Naruto, an Epic
by rexymandias
Summary: These are the Hurricane Chronicles. The tale of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha like you've never seen before. The weight of the people is on their shoulders. They will feel love, hate, friendship; and face the worst of the worst and the best of the best. They will do whatever it takes. Witness the journey of the two Shinobi who revolutionized the entire world. (World-building)
1. The Returned & The Reincarnated

PROLOGUE

"THE RETURNED & THE REINCARNATED"

The Fourth Shinobi War was at its climax. All of the five great Shinobi villages had joined forces in hopes to destroy a single evil opposing them all: Uchiha Madara. The sole reason the Uchiha name was such a taboo; the reason the Uchiha were pariahs, disdained, shunned, discriminated, and eventually…destroyed. His legacy was an evil kind, and the battles he fought were for the sake of his own morbid enjoyment and love for spilt blood—pointlessly spilt blood to be specific. The tide of battle had yet to be turned.

At that moment, all five Kage—the strongest of their respective hidden villages—stood tall at the very forefront of the waves of endless Shinobi, all of whom battled for the sake of their peace, and more importantly, to protect the dreams of the kings of their future: the children.

Rushing to the forefront was a young, pink-haired woman. She pushed and shoved through the concentrated crowd of people to reach her master's side.

"This world is mine…" said Uchiha Madara. His voice was laced with ominous intent and a sick pleasure in it. It was horrifying. "Your saviour is dea—"

"Uchiha Madara, forfeit this war," whispered Tsunade—the last remaining Senju and the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. Her comment elicited a mere chuckle from Madara. She grit her teeth tight. It didn't help that she and her fellow leaders looked like they'd been dragged through hell and back. Her face was dirty with earth, scrapes and scratches and bruises marred her once-beautiful visage. "Have it your way then…"

Tsunade clapped her hands together with a great deal of force. First came the largest plume of smoke, the size of mountains; then came the sound of diamonds shattering. And when Madara looked closely upon Tsunade's battered and bruised figure he found that she no longer remained as such. Odd markings weaved and coursed vibrantly across her face in a long criss-cross. The beauty she was lauded for returned to her at once. Gone were the cuts and scratches, replaced with a look of victory.

The smoke dissipated, revealing the Shinobi Slug, Katsuya, Tsunade's legendary summon. The creature broke out into a hundred miniature versions of itself, and then thousands, millions, hundreds of millions…it was endless. They all crawled their ways onto the limbs of the surrounding Shinobi, attaching themselves and healing each and every one of them.

Hope was renewed amongst all. Cheers and battle-cries could be heard miles away—though there was no passerby, it was simply to say that they were more than feeling up to the challenge of fighting against the legendary Shinobi.

Madara merely chuckled once more. He raised his hands in front of him and whispered something. Tsunade saw something change in his eyes. The Sharingan seemingly vanished, replaced by purple…

The Shinobi Alliance in it's entirety was pushed back violently, falling on top of one another. The Kages did their level best to oppose the force of gravity pushing them all back. It was pointless. They all fell on their heads and found they were kept there. Something heavy weighed them down.

_Madara_, Tsunade thought. Her mind flashed back to the battle against Pain, Nagato. She bit her lip in anger—smashed her fist into the earth beside her.

"You see," Madara began, "it is pointless…it's all over. Submit defeat. And then allow me to bestow peace upon this world—"

"Bullshit!" retaliated a high-pitched voice from amongst a crowd of Shinobi. Haruno Sakura arrived to the front of the crowd, pushing against the force of gravity with all her might. She bore the same markings as her master, Tsunade, and chakra seemed to be rolling off of her in waves. "Fuck your peace!" she shouted. And then she raised her hand high above her head.

A beat, and then…

A gigantic ball of pure chakra rotated wildly, hovering inches above the palm of her right hand. It was heavier than she thought it would be. She pumped even more chakra into the technique. It turned a beautiful pinkish-blue colour. Sweat beaded down her forehead as she held the massive boulder of chakra above her shoulders. It looked something like a spirit-bomb, like something out of that Dragon Ball anime they all watched as children. She smirked despite the strain.

"Rasengan," she whispered proudly, before tossing the giant ball of chakra a few inches in the air, cocking her left fist back…

"Sakura, NOOO!"

"Shannaro, bitch!" she said confidently as she slammed her fist into the hovering technique.

It rocketed across the battlefield, faster than a sharingan could perceive. The ball began to spin more wildly and the chakra within it began splashing out in slaps and thrashes like giant, cutting waves.

Sakura huffed, out of breath and nearly out of chakra. She felt the proudest she ever had of herself for accomplishing that jutsu. And then disbelief overran her pride.

Madara stuck his hands out in front of him just as he did before pushing the Shinobi Alliance down to the ground. Instead of pushing the Rasengan away though…he absorbed it. All of it.

"Ahh, that was refreshing," Madara said as he felt a comfortable chill run through him. He still wasn't used to the feeling. He locked his eyes with Sakura, and that's when she saw it:

_Rinnegan. Shit_, she thought. She glanced at her master, who looked up at her with terror in her eyes. She'd never seen that emotion on her face. It scared her. She turned her eyes back to Madara.

"You're a strong one, I like that. Here—for you…" He burst the jutsu right back out of his hands. It flew faster than when she had launched it in his direction.

There was nothing to be done. This was it. She knew…this was the end of her life. She tried. She fought. She stopped crying and whining for Naruto and Sasuke, but despite halting her pleas, she knew deep down that this war needed them here. _I love you both._ And those were her final thoughts as she shut her eyes and awaited the end.

**SHINGGGG! KSHHH! CLANGG!**

She opened them, and what she saw, she could not believe…

Smoke ushered beneath his feet as he stood upon the Earth. A lengthy cloak stamped with the Uchiha Clan symbol glided across the wind—it carried such an animated flow. His eyes…convicted. He'd found purpose, it seemed. His hair was tied high into a samurai knot; dark stubble littered across his face; he was taller, stronger, looked…different. A large staff was slung around his shoulder and he held his famous kusanagi blade in his left-hand grip. Strength and hope radiated from his being.

"S-Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She felt deceived. None of this could be real… Perhaps the dream had already begun.

"U-u-chiha S-Sasuke?" Tsunade questioned disbelievingly.

"Uchiha…?" Uchiha Madara inquired intrigued with his observation. He _was _the Uchiha.

"Sakura." Uchiha Sasuke locked eyes with the astonished young kunoichi. She saw it—_them_—and she knew. _Those eyes._ "Just for a while." He smiled. It was funny, nobody had ever really seen Sasuke smile. Those eyes crinkled with ingenuity and promise. He was back now. No more running away.

Sakura nodded. She'd understood. His eyes said it all. She didn't quite know how, but she knew; like he connected with her…not her mind—but her heart. She'd seen it then felt it. _We need to stall. But for what? _

Sasuke's eyes wandered away from her for a moment, he searched among the fallen Shinobi. Sakura caught his gaze, turned her head and found Ino to be the target of his search. Then epiphany struck within her. She hoped she was right, and as if he'd read her heart once again, he answered her question. She looked back at Ino, nodded her head—needed to relay her newfound information. Ino nodded back.

In an instant, Sakura found her head flooded with Ino's mind—her possession was so powerful now. And just like that it was gone as quick as it came. Sakura's eyes had never left Ino's. She saw it—and now Ino had too. She knew…

_Naruto…_

A young man prepares for his battle—for his longest journey. He threw on a cloak—clasped the notch at the front. Secured a pack to his back. Ready.

"Is it already time, Uzumaki Naruto?" a gruff voice asked from behind the young man.

Naruto turned to face the voice. An aged man stood across the room. He wasn't old, he appeared mature in age though. He was a warrior.

"Hai," Naruto said.

He'd grown. Time had flown indeed. His hair was longer, more wild; his eyes more sharp. He held a certainty in them now. His cheeks and chin were covered in the lightest blonde scruff. His whiskers were still there, deeper, hidden probably, behind that scruff. He'd also grown taller. His cloak did a good job hiding all his hard work. His training had paid off in the end. Underneath all those cloaks and garbs his scarred and battered body was stronger than ever. His mind was sharp. He felt clear.

"Good. I will miss you, son. You remind me a lot of my brother—the best parts of him, I suppose." The man had lived long but remained young. He'd seen the best and the worst and Naruto had always reminded him of why it was still worth living.

"I'll miss you as well, Hamura Jiji," Naruto said, smiling genuinely at the man who'd served as his teacher for some time. "I know enough today to defeat the end of us, and I only have you to thank for it."

"I merely opened your eyes, Naruto," Hamura said. He paused—stared at the young man with a sentimental expression. "You'll always be welcome—drop by anytime," he said, and he smiled the brightest he'd smiled in the longest time.

Naruto chuckled. "Of course—did you think I wouldn't drop in on you if you didn't say that?"

Hamura chuckled too.

"See you around, kid."

"See you around, Jiji."

Sasuke fired off another arrow from Susanoo. Madara dodged it. He activated his Rinnegan in time—pulled the arrow back around—Madara dodged once more. He pulled the string back—shot a million more. His Rinnegan spun madly as he manipulated the battlefield around him. Madara met him at every end with his own Rinnegan.

CLING!

Sasuke's blade clashed with Madara's staff violently. The reverberation shattered the Earth around them. The surrounding ground trembled. Everyone felt the power of the Uchiha.

The two Uchiha's battled endlessly, powerfully, and with nothing held back. Sasuke with a purpose, and Madara for the sake of pleasure.

Sasuke manipulated the battlefield with Susanoo's million arrows jetting around constantly and infinitely while battling the legendary Shinobi hand-to-hand, trading blow for blow without fear. He exhausted every outlet of energy he could. He even pushed through Limbo with a few of his own imitations. He wasn't used to his Rinnegan as much as he'd hoped, but this battle was helping him to adapt—quickly. He could tell Madara and him were on the same level until he'd begun the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

He just needed to stall a little while longer. Just a bit more. Until Naruto was ready. Soon enough, he felt it—through the connection. _Naruto._ He was ready.

Sasuke didn't waste any time. He pushed his Susanoo into Madara, forcing him back. He needed distance and just a tiny bit of time. He had to do this perfectly. With focus. _Just the way the Old Man taught me._

Madara relished the battle at hand. He hadn't met such a match before. He was finally feeling something more than boredom. He felt challenged! He didn't expect the push from the Susanoo. _Inventive._ He chuckled madly as he was hit head on by the towering figure of chakra.

Sasuke quickly leapt back a great distance. He searched for any wounds on him; surprisingly, he hadn't a cut anywhere on him. He used his sword to knick his finger. Shut his eyes. Smeared a thick line of blood across the lids. He focused all his thoughts, all his energy, all of his will into an idea. No hand seals, no tricks. No Jutsu. _DESIRE! _His will of fire.

Sasuke's eyes shot open—bloodshot red—magatama spinning wildly around the rim of his Rinnegan. He held the universe within his eyesight. _Tomoe._

"CREATE!" He uttered once with all his strength.

**BANG!**

A big bang popped across the entire battlefield. Everyone heard it. The world around Sasuke's eyes changed—morphed into something horrifying and then beautiful. He defined everything there as it…_became._ He imagined Naruto, the young man he remembered. The man in his thoughts at that very moment, encouraging him through their connection. The moment was failing. The creation was beginning to fall apart. Madara was beginning to rise.

_What am I missing? _he thought. He'd put every ounce of strength and his entire will into the thought. _So what am I missing?_

_Love._

Naruto spoke through their connection. _Love. Something you know but don't have…yet._

It was true. He'd known love long ago, but now he had nothing of the kind. Love was a distance away. His sight split momentarily towards Sakura but she wasn't there in his thoughts. He didn't let her love him. Didn't let himself love either.

Naruto filtered his self through their connection. Filled the void Sasuke could not feel yet. All of his memories. He didn't let himself drift into the past. He thought of the future. The future he was fighting for. _Ino—_

PROLOGUE END


	2. A Thousand Birds & Vermillion Light

CHAPTER ONE

"A THOUSAND BIRDS & VERMILLION LIGHT"

Uragiri (Betrayal).

_A thousand birds cried out, screeching woe and fury within the palm of his hand. It scorched and healed. His face was on fire and not just because of the heat of this moment; he wore a colour upon his face like murder. _

_Nothing before this moment exists._

Tomodachi (Friend).

_An orb of radiant light bled into vermillion, humming its pain quietly. Betrayal plagued his heart. He could not seem to fill the void torn open by his best friend; his heart was vestigially apparent though he decided that he could not to die. The scenario played out a thousand times, than a thousand more. He knew his decision would be revoked and with force. He still tried._

_Nothing before this moment…exists…_

_A friend murders a friend._

_Open your eyes._

_A boy becomes a man._

_Open your eyes._

_Blonde and blood and rain and tears. _

_There was a moment that existed between moments, a destiny shared by the two friends. One decided to take the whole share. It was a greedy decision and there was indeed a lust in His eyes. This boy was the one who held lightning in his hands; and blood in his eyes, his iris stained down to its very last atom. The other relinquished his hold reluctantly enough, and only did so when his heart seemed to stutter out of love._

You were my brother. Then why?

Because you were _mine _too.

_Vermillion faded to black._

_This is His end. And His beginning._

_A Thousand Birds._

_Vermillion Light._

_Sasuke._

_Naruto._


	3. Broken Bonds I

PART ONE:

DEPARTURE

CHAPTER TWO

"BROKEN BONDS I"

_Blink._

Naruto awoke to the blinding white walls and disinfectant stench of The Konoha General Hospital, west of the Hokage Tower. He thirsted for a drop of water. His throat was parched Sahara-dry. Once his eyes adjusted to the white he searched his room for anything that might quench his thirst. Bingo. He grasped at the pitcher and chugged right from it, completely ignoring the tall glass next to it. He pulled the pitcher away from his lips.

_So many questions._

He wondered about the events proceeding, than assumed the probable. It was the worst habit he had—in other's opinion; in his own, it gave him an edge. That's what being segregated at the ripe old age of One Day Old will do to you. If it weren't for the Third (Old-Man Third)—

The door opened. Tsunade Senju walked through. She was the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure (The Hidden Leaf Village). Naruto himself—and his mentor Jiraiya (Pervert)—had inspired her to give up a life of gambling and debt and to return to her home—Konoha. She was reluctant at first, though the persisting image of her dead younger brother urged her; she thought his soul and the soul of her lover were alive and well and blooming within Naruto.

"How are you feeling," she asked sweetly. It was no secret she deeply cared for the young Genin and Hokage-hopeful. She wasn't subtle either. It might've been a mistake to become this close but she didn't care. For her, she had her martyred brother back by her side.

"Not good," Naruto replied honestly. "What happened? Sasuke?" was all he said.

She shook her head. "Gone."

Naruto bit his lip. Tsunade approached. "Don't," he whispered through gritted teeth.

She stopped in her tracks.

He slammed his fist into the pillow next to him. He kept it buried, pushing deeper into the thin mattress. "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! _Damnit! DAMNIT! DAMNIT!_ DAMNIT!" He repeated the word a million times. Tsunade merely watched.

Naruto cried in that moment—even as Tsunade sat there. He didn't care. He failed. He. _Failed_.

Once he had calmed (his state could not be called calm), he looked deeply into Tsunade's eyes and asked: "What happens next, Tsuna?"

_Those eyes_. Her lover's eyes flashed in her mind. Her brother's too. Hope still lingered behind the oculus, though she'd never seen such a defeated look before in her entire life—and she had waged and participated in many wars. She didn't know what to tell him. His best friend—The Last Uchiha—was gone, and not just any kind of 'Gone.' He was the kind of 'Gone' that was called desertion. An act that people always labelled with the title: _Traitor_.

"Naruto…everything's going to be okay, alright?" she said.

Naruto nodded his head. Tsunade approached his bedside hesitantly. He now welcomed her and her impending embrace. It was not brief to say the least. But that was alright with him.

Following Tsunade's lead, the remainder of his teammates from the rescue mission and a few close friends paid him a visit during his stay at the hospital. Most stop-by's were brief. A few were, his Academy teacher, Iruka Umino; his Sensei, Kakashi Hatake (the man who rescued him from his death, though were he a second early, he might've stopped Sasuke from blitzing Naruto's chest into a fist-sized hole); Team 8; Team 9 (a special greeting and thank-you was reserved for Rock Lee); Team 10 (Chouji was back with his munchies on full-blast—which made sense considering he'd lost near to a hundred pounds during his battle against Jirobo of the Sound) (His meeting with Shikamaru was memorable—he would argue that the boy who'd come to be known as the "Laziest Shinobi" had grown into a man through the course of this mission); there were a few others, but how could he forget…_Sakura_.

She was the one person who had not visited him, and today was his last in the hospital. He was heartbroken. He knew her reasons (_assumed, not knew_) and understood his failures to be the cause of her avoidance of him. He forced his anger at her down. He didn't deserve to be angry. He was supposed to bring Sasuke back. For Her. For _Him_. So they could be a family again. He failed though, and all of a sudden, it appeared that the world had cracked around it's edges.

He brooded and ruminated sullenly over his back-stabbing friend (he always considered him a brother) and the pink-haired, hateful, disappointed, probably heartbroken, Sakura Haruno as he prepared to leave the hospital; he received his jumpsuit in a blood-ridden bag (his blood) and was given a spare shinobi uniform by an unremembered nurse.

Sakura hated him (probably). He loved her. He was so in love with her. He loved her even then. Even if she decided she'd hate him for the rest of her life, he still loved her. He wondered if maybe—

The shuffling and sliding of a large window tore him out of his musing. Jiraiya of the Sanin stumbled through the window clumsily. The sight of a gigantic toad, levelling the size of the hospital itself was visible behind his perverted old mentor, through the open window screen. The breeze outside smelled sweet.

"Yo!" Jiraiya waved as he managed to find his footing. "Heard you fucked up?"

Naruto deadpanned at the greeting. A tick seemed to knock the bone-arena of his skull, urging him to go for it and slap the old pervert upside for the negligently nonchalant, frankly disrespectful, and apathetic greeting (He bit back the feeling).

Jiraiya dropped his hand to his side. He noticed the somber atmosphere. That, coupled with the expression on his student's face indicated to him the absolute fucking obvious fact that he really shouldn't have done that. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and a genuine, sheepish sort of look overlapped the smile upon his face.

(no reaction)

Jiraiya dropped his hand again. He scrutinized the boy under an arduous gaze now. "Naruto…I…" he paused. Approached the boy a few steps, placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

(still no reaction)

Jiraiya contracted his brows together. He recognized the look on Naruto's face and flashed back thirty-something years ago and found himself standing in Naruto's place and Old-Man Third's hand on his own shoulder; and the same sorry seemed to echo in his eardrums and reverb throughout his surroundings. Flash-forward, he stood before Naruto, his hand was still on the boy's shoulder, his sorry still echoed. Jiraiya slid his hand off Naruto's shoulder. He took a seat upon the hospital bed, creasing the fresh bedding (Tsuna'll probably kill him later). He tapped the empty space beside him; his eyes looked out the window.

(he sat beside him) Naruto sat silently. There was nothing to talk about. He knew what he had to do.

"Naruto," Jiraiya started. He took a pause, rethought his words, then rethought those too. "You probably don't wanna hear this right now—or ever maybe—but it's my responsibility to tell you this: I've been exactly where you are right now. And I know exactly what you're thinking in this moment now—"

"I'm bringing Sasuke back," Naruto declared.

Jiraiya sighed. He broke his gaze outside the window and turned to look at the boy. "Don't."

"Why?" Naruto asked (more like pleaded).

"Because I said that same thing, except the one who I wanted to bring back was—"

"Orochimaru…"

"Yeah. And instead of me convincing myself not to, it was Old-Man Third who was there for me. And Tsuna was there for me too."

"Sakura probably hates me."

Jiraiya felt surprise. "Why would you think that?"

"She didn't even visit," he whispered.

A slap in the back of the head knocked Naruto out of his trance (im in a dark place). He looked at his teacher dumbfounded. Jiraiya gave him a look of confirmation?

"You idiot, go and see her. She probably thinks YOU hate HER."

"What? Why? That's stupid?"

"Women are stupid."

There was momentary pause as the two closed their respective generational gaps with one unanimous and ubiquitous fact: women are stupid.

"But that's beside the point," Jiraiya continued. "Tsuna thought I hated her too. She thought because she told me to go and bring Orochimaru back, and because he nearly murdered me, that I might hate her for it. Obviously, I didn't."

Naruto shakily nodded his head. "Let's just talk about something else, Sensei."

Jiraiya was a little (slash a lot) taken aback by his student's newfound formality. "'Sensei,' really?"

A chuckle escaped Naruto's throat. It sounded gruff. "Yeah. Sensei."

"Don't do that, Naruto. Don't let yourself stay in that dark place up in your head. Just. Don't."

Naruto didn't decide whether he would or would not allow the darkness to bloom this time around. He usually overcame his demons (not all but most) but this time—his failure, the hurt he felt, the betrayal, it all spilled out in one fell-swoop, like a gushing waterfall. He couldn't stop it even if he wanted to.

Jiraiya turned his gaze back towards the scenery outside the hospital window. He locked eyes with Bunta—his summoning toad—and remembered the reason for his visit: "Naruto, I have something important to talk to you about." (he had his attention) "I want to take you outside the village borders. It'll be a long trip, but you'll have plenty to learn by my side. I'll teach you everything I know. What do you say, kid?"

Naruto considered his teacher's words carefully. He mused whether there was a hidden intent behind the offer. "Why?" he asked curiously. "Is it because you want to keep an eye on me? You don't trust me? Or did the Old Lady order you to? Is that it—am I under watch or something? You think I'll leave just like Sasuke did?"

"Slow down, kid, it's none of the above. You're my student. I care about you, Naruto. You remind me so much of myself at times, but that's not the reason I took you on. That was never it."

"Then why?"

"Because every now and then, when I look at you, I catch glimpse of the Fourth."

Naruto looked up in surprise. "The Fourth…Hokage?" he asked.

"The legend himself," Jiraiya replied, smiling at his student now. "I can see the faintest glimmer of him in you. And I think to myself; you, kid, are capable of Great Things. I failed Him. I don't want to fail you too.

There are dangerous forces in pursuit of you and a handful of other… 'Special…' individuals."

"Jinchuriki," Naruto whispered. "Those guys with the red clouds on their cloaks—Sasuke's brother—and that shark-dude, them right? They want the beast inside me…" Naruto rested the palm of his hand above the pit of his stomach—_felt a rumble_.

Jiraiya nodded. "You get me? And I'm not letting another student of mine die a martyr. We gotta make you strong. After all, I'm looking at our next Hokage am I not?" he asked with a wry smile.

A smile, albeit a faint one, cracked the somber look on Naruto's face.

"What do you say, kid? It might do you some good; get away from all this?"

Naruto subtly nodded. His leg began bobbing up and down (and up and down and up and down and up and down) in nervousness. Jiraiya patted him on the back. Smiled.

"It's decided then. We leave in a week."


	4. Broken Bonds II

CHAPTER THREE

"BROKEN BONDS II"

Rain. Thunder. Lightning. Shadows nigh. Blood streams. Tears that were lost—mixed with the blood streams. Eyes. _Eyes_. His face in the darkness. _His face_. You _see_? The hunt is afoot. The beast…his number is_ nine_. Brothers betraying brothers; he sees Him in his dreams. A boy becomes a man.

Crimson skies. Blood rain.

_Libel_. He doesn't know yet.

_He sees Him in his dreams_. _Eyes_. He _sees_ now.

…

"!_MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN_!"

…_SCREAM_…

Sasuke awoke yet again from his nightmare; it was the same one, it all began the night he killed his best friend. _Naruto_. He saw his face in his dreams, bruised and battered, bloody and white. He saw the light leave Naruto's redemptive eyes.

_And that was when He opened His_.

Since that night, he felt like he had a monster inside of him. Like a darkness that had evolved into an entity, something malleable, something besides the abstraction of what he always felt it to be. Now it would talk to him, whisper things, horrible things. _Kill_. _Kill_. _Kill_. _KILL_!

Sasuke threw his sweat-drenched sheets off of his body. His shirt clung to his skin. He threw that off too, chucked it into some dark corner of the dark room that imprisoned him. He rubbed his eyes. They were covered by bandages. They hurt. Ever since that night. They hurt. _Pain is good_. No it isn't. He didn't like it. He should never have listened to his brother. He was foolish yet again. So gullible. So desperate.

He trailed his fingertips along the soft creases of the bandage, slid his hand to the knot tied tightly upon his occipital, tugged on the knot—cloth-wrappings cascaded down smoothly, falling gracefully around his neck and shoulders. He touched his eyes. He could feel them flittering about behind his eyelids.

He opened his eyes.

_He contained the universe within his sight_.

He could see now. And he saw horrible things. He could _do_ horrible things. He had _done _horrible things.

His eyes swirled madly in the darkness. His sharingan was _different_. No beads or commas or tomoes. Nothing was normal about them. His eyes looked like orbs containing spirals within spirals—like an _atom_. It was odd to look at for too long. One might find themselves lost in its depths.

Using a sharingan was an innate feeling—but only to those who had one. It was inexplicable to a non-user. Though if an explanation were to be attempted, the simplest way to state the feeling of it (the sharingan) would be to liken or compare it to that of a normal human flexing a muscle.

Sasuke _flexed_ his eyes…

…_SCREAM_…

"AAUUAHHHhhaHHAHAAAHAH!"

His eyes strained, vessels became visible, his pupils turned pale—transparent—and blood teared out (as if it came out of his eyeballs) of his eyelids and down his face. He held his face in pain. Rocked back and forth to soothe himself. _Tears mixed with blood streams_. He wiped his face. A few droplets of blood and tears fell to the floor. He heard the pitter of the soft liquid and flinched.

He slammed his fist into his cot. _damnit! damnit! Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT! DAMNIT! DaMnIT!_

He turned his head—eyes still closed—when he heard the slightest creak from his left. Immediately after came the sound of light footsteps, then suddenly, a voice whispered from behind his right; literally from behind him:

"_You should not strain yourself…Sasuuuukeeee-kuuunnn…_"

It startled him. He turned to meet the voice. _Orochimaru_. "What do you want?" he asked. He wondered how Orochimaru managed to fool his senses, _him_, the owner of the famed sharingan?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you think too little of me, Sasuke-kuuuuun. I merely want to help you."

"How?"

"However you please…I know what your heart desires…_Itachi_—"

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" he roared. His hands were off his eyes now, and he aimed his sight violently in Orochimaru's direction. _FLEX_. A myriad of fire and blood, coated in blackness puffed forth, only a scarce few inches—just barely touching Orochimaru—before falling to their death upon the cobbled floor.

Sasuke gripped his eyes in pain again.

Orochimaru looked absolutely fascinated. He stood from beside the boy, turned around and began walking toward an exit. He stopped. Turned to look at the boy once more. "You are a fine _specimen_, Uchiha Sasuke…"

And with that, he left.

Sasuke heard Orochimaru's words echo in his head as he writhed in pain. His head pounded and his eyes stung like someone had stabbed daggers in them.

Soon, the pain numbed and he fell asleep. Back into another _nightmare_.


	5. Untimely Departures

CHAPTER FOUR

"UNTIMELY DEPARTURES"

Naruto finished packing his bag. He looked at the clock (it was a comical rendition of Father Time—a little creepy actually…). 8:27. He swung down the long flight of steps to the bottom of his condo (it was a fine place).

He had a nightmare about the Valley of the End the preceding night. He had dreamed that he was in Sasuke's place; and Sasuke in His, like a switching of roles (for lack of a better term). He wasn't planning on telling the old pervert about it.

Naruto cut through the bustling streets of Konoha—district-through-district—he swam through the crowd unnoticed for a change. It was a Thursday. Thursday's were mostly busy this way. He tired of the bustle and the hustle, leapt for building-tops and charged his legs with explosive amounts of chakra. _Boom_. His leaps formed cracks in the building-tops. Rubble vibrated and shot off into the air all around him.

He felt this route to be a lot quicker, though he realized very quickly the fact that he was in no rush to arrive at his destination. In fact, some part of him did not wish to leave Konoha at all. This place, despite all the discrimination and the secrecy and the narrow-minds, it was his home. _Everyone's gotta grow up and leave home someday_.

Naruto saw the large gates getting closer and closer just as he ran out of building-tops. He bounded off a ledge and closed the entire gap in one fell swoop…

…and came crashing down right on his ass.

Jiraiya gave him an amused look. Naruto grinned like a sheep in winter. The two guards posted at the gates held in a few chuckles 'till they couldn't, then Jiraiya and Naruto began to laugh with them too. Jiraiya gave him a hand and pulled him up on his feet. Naruto dusted nothing off his pant-legs and straightened his already-straightened headband. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding onto.

Jiraiya asked, "You ready, kid?"

Naruto nodded and said, "Not at all," then chuckled and said, "but I think I'll make it."

Jiraiya chortled. "Good."

Footsteps pattered against the rough earth surrounding them. Naruto turned around to see the entire Rookie 9 ('shocked' was not enough to describe his expression) and their Sensei, with the addition of Rock Lee, Neji Hyuuga, and Might Guy.

But his eyes saw only one: _Sakura_.

He turned back to look at Jiraiya. Jiraiya nodded, as if something unspoken occurred between them. Naruto took a few steps toward the group of Shinobi. He'd come to regard them all as his allies and his friends (he's come a long way).

He smiled and folded his arms behind his head. He wasn't sure how to react. He felt celebrity.

Shikamaru was the first to speak. "So you're off, huh, Naruto?" Naruto unfolded his arms and nodded curtly. "Get strong, and you better believe I'm not gonna fall behind this time around. After all, who else is gonna save your dumbass when you become Hokage?"

A cold and truthful breeze fluttered past them, brushing against their skin and ensuing goosebumps all 'round.

Naruto responded, "YOSH!" then shook his comrade's hand medievally before the boy pulled Naruto in for a bro-hug. He slapped his back a few times before letting go. Naruto grinned all the while. He moved onto the next in line. _Chouji_.

Chouji put away his chips (quite the rarity, and everyone knew it considering the slack-jawed expressions) and raised a fist to Naruto. Naruto bumped it and he felt everything the big-boned boy had to say. He nodded his head and shot him a thumbs up.

Next—_Shino_.

He said nothing. Absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. _Nada_. Naruto felt a little unnerved at the coldness. Shino pulled the hem of his collar down a notch and smiled at Naruto. "You will be missed, Uzumaki-san." He proceeded to reposition his collar and stay mum. A tick knocked Naruto's skull a few times, he accepted the answer and moved on.

_Kiba_—loud boy. Ever shouting, ever annoying. "YO! NARUTO! You'd better come back strong! And then we'll have a match, eh?!" Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's antics. He nodded deftly and slapped him a high-five. Akamaru gave him a few licks for good luck.

_Rock Lee_—"Gosh, Naruto-kun, the fires of youthfulness spring so brightly within you it sears my very eyes! I must do even better to shine brighter."

Naruto muttered, "don't worry, Lee, you're as loud as fuckin' bombs." He didn't hear him.

Next—_Neji Hyuuga_. He was quiet, one would argue sullen. He was one among the many whose heart Naruto had changed. He changed the mantra (_WAR WAR WAR_) to _peace_. They both nodded curtly at one another and shook hands.

_Tenten_. He didn't really know her well before the Chuunin Exams, but she was alright, and a hell of a weapons-woman. She could probably hide clubs and katanas the size of Chouji in places that would drop every man's jaw to the floor (get it?…boobs…oh, and she's got a scroll between her legs—no, not _that_ kind). She winked at him, hugged him briefly, and wished him good luck. He thanked her.

Next—_Hinata_ (his eyes kept wandering to the end of the line where Sakura stood, her eyes on her toes and her pink hair choppily splayed out as if she'd been in a battle).

_The timid girl stood broadly this morning. She held an air of confidence (his eyes shifted back to Sakura every so often) that caught Naruto's attention. She looked up into his eyes. He smiled into her pale eyes. She felt butterflies overwhelm her for a moment. She pushed the feeling down, took Naruto's hands in her own. _

_Surprise flared all about. _

_She took a step closer and looked deeply into the boy's eyes. "N-Naruto-kun…" she bit back her fears, her nightmares, her worries, her anxiety, everything. She tugged her adoration to the forefront of her mind and continued: "Naruto-kun, I've waited a long, long, loooong time to say this. I'm scared of what you'll say…but I don't want you to leave without me saying it."_

_Naruto felt sweat roll down the back of his neck. Butterflies a-swirled. He smiled nervously. He gave her a look that said go on._

_"__You're very important to me. You inspire me, Naruto-kun. I really do believe in you—that's what kept me going when I fought Neji." She paused, looked away for an instant to bite back the impending tears. "You see, Naruto-kun, we're kids, I get it, but I feel something for you that I know will never change." She looked up into his eyes, water sparkling in her pale eyes. "I love you."_

_Naruto's ears rang with her declaration. His eyes sparkled, his knees buckled, his lips twitched up into an ear-splitting smile and he giggled like a little girl. He had no idea Hinata felt this way about him. It made him feel warm inside. It made him feel good. He liked the feeling. He noticed Hinata's hands still holding his. He tightened his grip around her fingertips. She responded likewise. He smiled. She smiled. _

_"__Hinata, I lov—"_

"Hinataaaaaaaa!" Naruto droned as he observed the timid young girl frozen in some cozy corner of time and space inside her own head. He was about to give her a tap on the head when Kurenai stepped in.

"She's not feeling too well, Naruto-kun, that's all, nothing to worry about. She said she wanted to bid her friend farewell, is all."

Naruto stepped back. "That's incredibly sweet, Kurenai Sensei. Well, whenever she's feeling better, you tell her that Naruto said 'I'll see you soon…friend!'" He smiled foxily. Kurenai patted Hinata's shoulder comfortingly and nodded her head at Naruto.

"I think she'll appreciate that."

Naruto found himself in front of Ino Yamanaka. He didn't know anything about the girl. She was Shikamaru and Chouji's teammate and that's all. She smiled at him. He didn't remember her ever picking on him, which was good. She was innately pretty (boys language for beautiful) and her eyes were a shade lighter than his own.

The two stared into each others eyes, sizing up one another. He waited for her to speak. She waited ditto. Seconds flew by. After a full minute she put her hand out, tired of the waiting (patience was never her strong suit). He took it. She said, "You're staring."

He said, "I'm waiting."

She said, "For what?"  
He said, "For you."

She said, "So was I."

He sniggered. She laughed.

"Do we need reintroductions?" she asked. He shook his head as he sniggered with a look that said _nahhh_.

The surrounding group observed the two strike up a conversation of pure brusque. They facepalmed.

"I'll see you soon, Ino…" For a moment, it sounded as if he wanted to add more to that statement. He nearly attached an endearment to her name. He was quick on his feet to save himself from that mistake.

"See you, Naruto. Make sure to get strong. We all gotta root for each other, amirite?"

"Definitely."

Naruto moved onto the final party at hand. His best friend (besides Sasuke)—_Sakura_. Her face was low, all he could see was her pink hair and it was a mess. He reached out toward her. She flinched. He recoiled at her reaction. Naruto felt dizzy. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat. Smelled the sweet breeze. Cherry blossoms. Strawberries. Wild orchids. Shifty-eyes.

He reached out and lifted her head up to see her eyes filled with tears right to the brim. She did not allow a single drop to fall. He was surprised.

Naruto said, "I'm sorry." Sakura looked up in surprise at him. She shook her head violently.

"No, Naruto-kun, you have nothing to be sorry for. In fact…_I'm_ sorry." Naruto chuckled. She stared in shock. He shook his head _no_. The feeling was heard. No apologies were needed from either one. She nodded in understanding and he opened his embrace with a _can I get lucky since I'm leaving for Kami-knows-how-long_ kinda look. She leapt into his arms and hugged the boy fiercely.

It was a sweet scene. All-around, _awww's_ were exchanged. Jiraiya shot a perverted smile and an unwarranted thumbs up that only Sakura saw (her skull wracked with annoyance at the old man's antics).

The two broke from their embrace, tears replaced with the warmth of camaraderie.

"Come home soon, okay?" Sakura said.

"I'll be back before you know it," Naruto said, a grin plastered on his face and his eyes shut tightly. He opened them and looked into Sakura's eyes one last time.

He stepped back and looked at all his comrades at once. He smiled to nobody but himself. He never thought he would gain friendship. Here he was, more friends than he could have ever asked for. He raised his hand and waved one last time.

The Jounin Sensei all looked at one another before collectively shouting, "Good luck on your trip, future Hokage-sama," and then they roared with pleasant laughter in unison.

Naruto was content.

Naruto turned around and walked towards Jiraiya. He nodded his head at the older man and didn't stop, passing him completely. Jiraiya caught the glint of tears hidden beyond the brim of the boy's eyelids. He smiled and followed after the boy.

Naruto turned around and gazed upon the village in its entirety. It was beautiful in the Thursday morning sunlight. Buildings basked and glimmered in the light, mountaintops and forestry brimmed and flowed with the semi-thick breeze. It felt like a scene out of a movie. Naruto's eyes landed upon the large monument, sculpted in honour of each Hokage; his eyes naturally roved toward the face of the Fourth. He recalled Jiraiya's words, felt his resolve sharpen, clenched a fist tight towards the skies, pointed out a single finger, in His direction.

He smirked confidently and said, "Watch me!" in a whisper loud enough for Jiraiya and the two guards to hear him. They all felt the heat of his resolve and felt compelled to put their beliefs in the young boy.

In that moment, no one doubted him. In that moment, they all believed it to be the truth and nothing but the truth—

Naruto unclenched his fist, turned around, and walked forward.

—Naruto would become Hokage.


	6. Homecoming (or The Point of Arrival)

PART TWO:

* * *

THE AKATSUKI

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

* * *

"HOMECOMING (OR THE POINT OF ARRIVAL)"

* * *

Two men returned home from a long journey—_it was a three year round trip_. They walked peacefully through the surrounding forestry, enjoying the sweet scent in the air of bark and leaves, they could even smell the savoury fragrance of ramen noddles (greatest creation)

Jiraiya observed Naruto—he walked a few steps ahead of him (ramen was calling, oh yes it was)

A boy had gone on that trip with him three years ago (two and a half to be exact)

A _man_ had returned in his place.

Naruto had grown quite a bit, not only in body (height oh he got taller no not talking about the other _thing _dirty mind dirty mind) but in mind.

_Stop_.

They had arrived. Two gigantic doors scraped the skies above them. They were open. The same two guards stood by the gateway. Jiraiya and Naruto approached them. They greeted their fellow shinobi. They were shocked at seeing Naruto. One of them accidentally said "Fourth" and the other "Ghost." It was hilarious. Jiraiya chuckled

"No, not ghost or the Fourth. Naruto."

…

It took a second to sink in.

"NANIIIIIIII?! NARUTO?!" Their voices overlapped. It was like an effect had been added onto their voices. They boomed and echoed both at the same time.

Naruto said, "Yo." He pinned his thumb to the base of his headband. His nail tapped the leaf insignia. The sound of metal clicked. He shot them his trademark grin. He looked like a _fox_.

"N-n-Naruto…jeez, long time, kid," one of 'em said.

The other said "Yeah," in agreement.

Naruto said, "It's only been three years." Despite not acting it, he'd missed this place. He was longing to see all his friends again, to catch a few beatings from Sakura—he'd missed the feeling of her knuckles caressing his jaw…_weeeiiiirrrddd_. But a man misses even the most troublesome of things when they are away from home for so long.

"Your hair got longer, you should probably get a haircut," one of the guards said. The other nodded in agreement. Naruto shook his head and snickered.

He ran a hand through his hair as he said it: "I think I'm gonna keep 'em like this for a while." He leaned mysteriously toward the two men, blocked his both with one hand and whispered so that Jiraiya couldn't see or hear him. "I'm trying to copy Jiraiya-sama." Naruto winked. _Bad joke_. They all broke out into laughter. Jiraiya was out of the inside joke.

"Alright, if we can get the all clear, Naruto and I have to report to Tsuna-chan…" Jiraiya rolled his palm a few times, urging them to _hurry it up_. The two hustled and bustled, shuffling paperwork and stamping (_TAP TAP TAP_) useless, regulatory documentation that was just thrown into a room filled with more useless, regulatory documentation. Why they didn't just cut the process was beyond Jiraiya's understanding.

_THAP_—they stacked all the documents neatly atop one another and set them inside a desk drawer beside the gateway.

_Finally,_ was Jiraiya's thought. _Ramen,_ was Naruto's.

* * *

Jiraiya and Naruto walked along through the streets and alleys of the village, unwittingly taking the long way; they'd been gone from home for so long they didn't really seem to care. Naruto walked in front of his teacher, he eyed every atom of earth and sky visible to his naked eye.

_Man, I missed this place._

Jiraiya too allowed himself a little melancholy. _Been too long not too,_ he thought. He found most of his memories resonated with many of the taverns and local inns sprinkled throughout the streets—nearly at every corner—he smelled a scent, a fragrance of some sort, he welcomed it, inhaled deeper, it hit his brain—the part that triggered nostalgia—and down he went through memory lane. _History truly does repeat itself_. He remembered when Old-Man Sarutobi walked him (along with Orochimaru; the Bastard—and Tsuna-chan of course) through these very streets, before missions, after missions, some random times, some fun times, some somber times too (the day the became a team the day they completed their first b-rank the day they were deemed legendary the day Dan died the day the Bastard left). _Ah, yes, what a time it was to be alive_.

Naruto stopped in place. Jiraiya stopped too. Jiraiya was knocked out of his nostalgia. He thought, _Saudade_.

Naruto curled down, folding inwards, like a ball. He unfurled quicker, launched himself upwards, high into the sky. Butterflies swarmed his belly in a fit of pure adrenaline and absolute fucking joy. He did a flip mid-air, glided a few feet forward and landed swiftly—_featherlike_—atop a thin chimney stack. It was one of the highest structures in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Naruto leaned his head back and outstretched his arms, breathing in the leafy air and allowing the atmosphere to embrace his body. A grin as wide as life graced his still-boyish visage. His eyes were wide-open as he feasted upon the sight of the Hokage Monument.

Tsuna's face had been carved on in the interim. It had indeed been a long two and a half years. He hoped she felt it too. He hoped all his friends did. He definitely missed them all.

He thought about all the times he thought he would never make it in life, all the times he felt failure was the only outcome for him, that he could never be allowed to win or to be happy or to have friends or family or love; and then his mind flashed forward in rapid bursts, synapses took off faster than bullets, he saw his friends join him in a room in his memory palace, a place made especially for the _good_ things that happened to Uzumaki Naruto—

**THONK! **

He was literally forced out of his musings as if he hadn't leapt off that chimney stack he would've surely been knocked off of it—by a long metal staff as far as he'd caught in the quick glimpse before he jumped—and the outcome of that scenario didn't seem the polite kind in regards to his body.

Naruto landed beside a street-side garbage can and thought, _Good on you Reflexes, 'cause if you didn't just tell me JUMP, I probably would have broken something important landing on top of that garbage can._ And then he thought, _Kaiho_.

He looked to see who chucked the staff-stick-wooden-thingy whatever it was. He heard a chuckle from behind him. Judging by the sound of the voice it _had _to be…

_Konohamaru!_

The little brat had grown quite a bit since the last time he'd seen him.

The boy was clearly still angry at the fact that Naruto had never actually said goodbye to him when he left with Jiraiya.

Naruto eyed Jiraiya for not intercepting the kid before he chucked a friggin' bo-staff at him. Jiraiya gave him an about-face expression that said _eat me_. Naruto thought, _Good ol' Jiraiya-chan_.

"Yo—Konohamaru!" Naruto waved happily. The boy was not amused. "What's up? Long time…no…"

Naruto never finished his sentence as a plume of smoke emanated suddenly from where Konohamaru stood. And it wasn't just the smoke. It was what came after it:

"_~!Oirokeeeee nooooo jutsuuuuuu!~_"

Gone was the little brat with the big stick of wood, there in his place stood a seditious young woman. She was gorgeous and besides that fact—and much more importantly—she was absolutely, pants-exploding, hard-on-enraging, unashamedly. Stark. Fucking. _Naked_.

Naruto stared.

Jiraiya stared.

_Sakura _stared.

Wait, where did Sakura come from. _When_ did Sakura come?

Naruto did a quick-turn and saw _her_ for the first time all over again. _Maaaaaan_ she was beautiful. She'd grown her hair back, even longer this time around. It fell closer to the small of her back now. It was cherry-blossom pink. It was Naruto's second favourite colour. His first was blonde. His third was blue.

Sakura looked rabid. She was near-to frothing at the mouth, visibly shaking, and looked dangerously vicious. It was then that Naruto remembered that Konohamaru was still a stark-fucking-naked—albeit sexy (no that was weird don't think of Konohamaru like that)—young woman.

A beat.

"KONOHAMARUUUUU!"

Konohamaru winked and said, "See 'ya later Naruto-nii—tell me what you thought of my new style!" and then he blitzed off, faster than the Yellow Flash.

He was gonzo.

Sakura turned her gaze upon Naruto.

Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat.

Neither spoke. They simply looked.

Jiraiya took notes like the pervert he was.

Naruto spoke first: "H-hey," he paused a huffed out a chuckle. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, eh, Sakura-chan?" He was always the nervous-type around her. Sometimes he forgot: she was his best friend. He had nothing to fear.

She softened her gaze. She was no longer rabid. She was not angry-looking; she was only the _sweet-_kind-of-looking. She said, "Took you long enough."

The two fell into a long embrace.

Jiraiya's notebook looked like a how-to-hentai guidebook at this point.

When the two broke from their embrace, they looked each other up and down, noting the many pubescent differences and growths that come about adulthood.

"You've grown so much," Sakura said.

Jiraiya wrote, _Naruto had a big dick._

Naruto exclaimed, "You're no less, Sakura-chan, I mean, look at your hair, it's so long now!"

Jiraiya wrote, _Sakura had a thick bush._

"My hair!? Look who's talking—have you seen the jungle goin' on on top of your head, Naruto?"

Jiraiya wrote, _They were a pair of animals. They were rambunctious little monkeys. They were doing the dirty out in the open air._

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. "I think Jiraiya Sensei has us both beat in the hair department."

Both Naruto and Sakura looked towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya fumbled with his notebook (caught you caught you caught you red handed red as his demon red as his eyes red as her period red as her face when she missed her period) as he shoved it into the depths of his back pocket. He grinned dumbly. They bought it. Naruto knew better but he still bought it.

"So are you guys heading over to Tsunade-sama? 'Cause I was already on my way there if you want to…?" she stuck a thumb in the Hokage Tower's direction, gesticulating the remainder of her question rather than verbalizing it. They got it. They nodded.

"After you, Sakura-chan. We can catch up on the way. I have _lots_ I wanna know," Naruto said.

Sakura said, "Don't worry, I've got _tooooooons_ to tell."

* * *

CHAPTER END.


	7. Hinata Hyuga's Diary (entry 912)

CHAPTER SIX:

* * *

"HINATA HYUUGA'S DIARY"

* * *

(_ENTRY 912_)

* * *

I remember.

_I saw him first. It was always I, who saw him first._

_Naruto-kun._

_I began this diary on the day he left. I recall that day vividly. I remember the guilt and the shame and the rut I felt towards myself. I began this diary in the hope that I might summon a cause or confidence; that I might will my destiny His way. I feel accomplished for a moment and I savour it._

_He's back—Naruto-kun..._

_My heart flutters as his eyes shift across and around the street ways. I feel pink to my cheeks. My chest is heavy and my stomach is doing somersaults; it feels like there's an entire zoo partying away inside me. The sides of my lips feel like they've got fishhooks in them; I smile unconsciously._

_I had yet to know Naruto-kun; yet, in a way, perhaps I'd always known him. He only knew the cherry's blossom and it's never-ending seasons. When would my season begin? When does the time of Hinata begin? _

_Toward the sun…_

_He was always mine. My light; my saviour; my hero. _

_When would I be his for a change. Will there ever be a time? _

_Perhaps…perhaps not._

_Could there ever be a time that this Hinata blooms himawari; the sun giving life to the sunflower?_

_I remember. I am just a little girl with little girl ambitions. My feelings are immature. My love has no merit. My eyes do not see. My heart should not cry._

_Then why? _

_Why, every day, every night; every hour; every minute; every second; every moment the sun and the moon rise to their peak? _

_Why does my heart cry?_

_Mama would know. _

_Mama is not here now._

_Papa is not Papa. Papa is Father. Father cannot know. Father is brute and tough, like steel. Father is as unflinching as hatred. Papa is as warm as the sun. Father is as cold as the night._

_I saw Naruto-kun after a long two-and-a-half years; two-and-a-half years filled with aching and longing and second-guessing. _

_I was often one to second-guess myself. I was often shy. I was often the embarrassed one._

_I hated myself._

_I wish I could be strong, like Naruto-kun. I wish I could shine as beautiful as the cherry blossom's pink petals penetrating through His periwinkle perspective. _

"Ahh, Naruto, you've grown so much," _I heard her say._

_You truly have, Naruto-kun. _

_You have grown._

_Your hair is longer; I love your long hair even more. Your whiskers, those cute little lines; I used to think you drew them onto your face. Now I understand why. I see you, Naruto-kun. I see. They say my eyes don't, but I know they do. I can see what's real inside of you. I know who you are, and I know what you mean to me. _

_You are everything under the sun. Let me hold you. I'll never let you go. _

_I promise—_

_But what's this? _

_Your eyes…_

_Your eyes are different now. Your eyes are not warm, your eyes are sharp, like Mama's senbon. Your eyes are cold and distant, like Father. Your smile does not reach your eyes. What's wrong Naruto-kun? What are you hiding? _

_I notice the unusual lack of bright orange. What happened to your favourite jumpsuit? Perhaps it simply took too much damage during training—oh, Naruto-kun, why do you push yourself so hard? I'll work even harder now so that I can be strong enough for the both of us._

_You dress like Jiraiya-sama. Your garbs are dark, your robes even darker. The only light part of you is your skin and—_

_Bandages? White-wrappings…they lead under your garbs. Did you hurt yourself, Naruto-kun?_

_You are mummified to the tips of your fingers, I can see the white-tape unravelling under your gloved palms._

_I could use my byakugan—_

_I shouldn't. _

_That wouldn't be right._

_You're leaving—no you can't leave me again! _

_I see you follow along, back in pursuit of the eternal and unending beauty of the cherry blossom tree. _

_I feel confidence rise in me._

_You've just returned home, Naruto-kun. Perhaps this time around, I'll have the strength to confess myself to you. I beat myself day after day after day when you left, for not having enough courage or strength or GUTS to tell it all to you then. But that's okay._

_You're here now. Maybe now I can show you that I'm not afraid. I can show you how much I love you. I can prove to you my nindo:_

I NEVER GIVE UP!

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: I've got the next four chapters lined up. Here's their titles as a teaser for what's to come (the title's will be relevant to the content within the proceeding chapters)**

**Chapter 07: "Motherly Instincts"**

**Chapter 08: "Hide The Princess"**

**Chapter 09: "Save The Princess"**

**Chapter 10: "Tanuki Dreams"**

**I will be writing them out and will publish them all hopefully by the end of next week. I hope y'all are enjoying so far.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 07: "MOTHERLY INSTINCTS" TEASER:**

**(the following is an excerpt of CHAPTER 07)**

_She knew._

Somehow. Someway. Some feeling. It just sparked inside her and she _knew_. It wasn't a guess or a hunch or a psychic anomaly of any sort.

She simply _knew_.

So when she heard the hinges on her door whine and creak; and when she saw the door slowly swing open; she knew the visitor_—or visitor's—_before she even caught sight of them.


	8. Motherly Instincts

CHAPTER SEVEN:

* * *

"MOTHERLY INSTINCTS"

* * *

_She knew_.

Somehow. Someway. Some _feeling_. It just sparked inside her and she _knew_. It wasn't a guess or a hunch or a psychic anomaly of any sort.

She simply _knew_.

So when she heard the hinges on her door whine and creak; and when she saw the door slowly swing open; she knew the visitor—_or visitor's_—before she even caught sight of them.

* * *

"OH—and I even administered brain-death to a rogue nin!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Neehhhh…Sakura-chan…isn't that illegal?" Naruto asked.

"Tsk, tsk, Narutooooo—nothing is illegal; everything's permitted." She winked.

The two trailed towards Hokage Tower at a steady pace, sharing stories intermittently, and in between that reminding each other that they were missed. Jiraiya kept itching at the spot his notebook was pocketed. He resisted the Urge.

"Naruto, your turn, you haven't even told me the first thing about what you got up to? Don't tell me you spent three years shirking your training?!" She berated with a raised finger.

Naruto shrunk and raised his hands; he waved her off and said, "_Sakuraaaa-chaaaaan_—give a guy a little more credit than that. I promise, I'm strong now."

She seemed to look at him a few seconds longer than necessary. Maybe it was because she believed his words. Maybe because she could sense that there was something he was hiding. Not a lie or a crime. He was hiding something like a deep, dark, secret. He was hiding something that made him vulnerable. That was the moment it clicked in her brain and she arrived to the plain and simple fact: Naruto's grown. Naruto's changed. Naruto is a man now.

Naruto snickered at her awestruck expression.

Jiraiya twitched—held himself back.

The silence became a tad awkward and quite annoying. Naruto broke it: "So…Konohamaru?"

Sakura sighed and said, "Yeah. _Konohamaru._"

Naruto chuckled.

Sakura continued, "He's been like that ever since you left. He's always running around town, playing pranks, vandalizing government buildings, shirking his team meetings and even his teammates; he's been defaming his grandfather's name the past three years all because he didn't get a simple goodbye."

Sweat beaded down Naruto's forehead. His face was deadpan. "You mean this is my fault?" Sakura nodded vigorously. Naruto gave her an about-face and said, "_Friend indeed_."

She punched his shoulder lightly and laughed as she did it. Naruto joined her; he itched animatedly under his nose and grinned like a fox.

Jiraiya had succumbed the Urge and now observed Naruto religiously in his behaviour. Nothing was hidden from him—nothing _could_ be hidden from him. Old Jiraiya had spent every second with the boy for the duration of the tirelessly referenced 'three years.' _It was only two and a half, _he thought annoyedly.

Naruto had overcome many trials in the course of time that had passed. In fact, it only felt like yesterday when Jiraiya had dropped Naruto into the depths of Death Gorge.

Or the time when Naruto had spurted the _Fourth_ Tail.

Or the time when he'd grown the _Fifth_ Tail.

Or the time he'd skipped the numbers _Six_ and _Seven_ and jumped straight to _Eight_.

Jiraiya and Naruto had been through it all, thick and thin, for better, for worse; and they'd always come out on top.

Naruto had indeed acknowledged his hopeless fallacy of retrieving Sasuke Uchiha, his aimless aspiration to become Hokage, and even his unmerited yet boundless admiration and affection for his fellow teammate Sakura Haruno; and yet here he stood, ever green, ever unchanged.

He never doubted himself for even a second. That was his strength and his weakness. Jiraiya was sure sooner or later, the day would come where Naruto would have to grow up and acknowledge the fact that the world can't be changed; that peace was a hollow word and an even shallower concept created as a lie to fuel war-fodder into the throes of It.

He often reminded Jiraiya of his other student; he was a Hokage.

* * *

The trio arrived by the gated doors of the grand, and rather old, Hokage Tower. They walked through, unabated by formality-seeking table-clerks screaming for paperwork that Naruto was sure needed to be filled, but then who gave a rat's ass? Not him.

_Not me._

The sight of Jiraiya and the fact that Sakura was Tsuna's protege was probably the only reason they hadn't clambered all over him. He was happy about that—he never enjoyed being clambered all over…not that he ever had been…_clambered all over_. Though he'd never enjoyed the _prospect_ of it either way.

Naruto walked a few steps ahead of them. He clipped the stairs up two steps at a time; the last six he clipped in three's. He was excited. Jiraiya chuckled at his rambunctiousness. Sakura half-berated, half-chuckled.

Shizune sat outside the large offices of Tsunade Senju. She looked surprised. She animatedly flew off her seat and met the two long-gone Shinobi with pleasantries:

"Welcome home, you two! Hope y'all had a good trip" (wink wink)

"Naruto—you've grown so much" (wink wink wink)

"Jiraiya-sama, it's always a pleasure. Tsunade-sama often recalls you in our meetings" (ouuu Tsuna-_chaaaaaan_ noticed me)

Pleasantries over, the quartet edged towards the door. Naruto was on his toes. Jiraiya had his hand absently scratched his notebook. Sakura watched amusedly.

Shizune turned the knob slowly, the hinges on the door whined and creaked with great weight and anticipation. Shizune pushed forward. The door swung open.

* * *

Tsunade felt a smile overtake her. She had her hair in a double-bun, held in place by a rubber band and the length of a pencil. She looked at her two favourite men in the whole entire world as they stood before her, high, mighty, with full-on, dumbass grins smeared across their faces. She smiled even wider.

She caught Jiraiya's nod at her. She blinked back in acknowledgement, though she wasn't sure whether that nod was an affirmative, 'mission accomplished,' or a perverted, 'my, Tsuna-chan, you've grown.' _Either way_.

Naruto's eyes lingered on her. He missed her dearly. She was his big sister, his mother-figure, a hero in his eyes—and not to mention his Godmother too—and one out of the few women he loved.

When she looked at him she saw _Dan_. That was the moment she knew without a doubt in her mind that Naruto Uzumaki had come back with a more mature hope burning him up inside and lighting up the world around him. She smiled (eyes-closed) to no-one but herself about that fact.

She was a humble woman now.

She used to see Nawaki's face overlap Naruto's sometimes. Now, she found Dan's face where Nawaki's once resided. She didn't mind one bit. As the boy grew, so did she, and her old age be damned, she still had a lot of learning left to do on this god-forsaken Earth.

"Long time no see—huh, Tsuna-_chan_," Jiraiya mustered out cutely. He interjected Tsunade's silent moment where everything was perfect and both her heroes had returned home, back where they belong. Maybe he did it on purpose. He could just be tired of the silence.

Tsunade's eyes fluttered onto Jiraiya. She said, "Too long, old man," and winked. He roared. She got up from her chair and gave him an honest, unabashed embrace with nothing held back.

He was surprised by the affectionate gesture from his rather aggressive (violent is the correct word) teammate, who used to spend most of their youthful days beating Jiraiya off with a stick for even hovering an inch too close. Jiraiya didn't reject the gesture. He embraced back. He would've been a fool not to. It was a rare moment. It was an innocent moment in the lives of two sinful Shinobi.

Tsunade pulled away and hugged Naruto next. She noticed his growth spurt. He was taller than her now. She ruffled his hair and gave him a playful nudge on his cheek.

Sakura watched the whole thing. She soundtracked the room and the whole moment with her _awwwww's_.

Tsunade leaned her waist on the edge of her desk, folded her arms and regarded both of her Shinobi seriously now. She nodded—once each for the both of them—and said, "There's not much to say—I've received every single update 'till date. You've both done a fine job, you should know that. Jiraiya, as expected. Naruto…_I'm proud of you_."

Naruto's face flushed. He went a little pink around the cheeks and muttered a _no problem_. She smiled at his innocent antics.

"I've already reinstated your team, Naruto, I was only waiting for you to come back home. Now that you're here…" She looked at Sakura and nodded, gesturally asking her: _approach_. She did. Tsunade said, "Sakura—Naruto—the both of you are now officially reinstated back onto Team 7."

Silence struck the room once again. It was like the something right had clicked all around the world. _Team 7_. Naruto felt more at home than ever. All that was left was to complete the set. _Sasuke…_

"Sakura, you've been performing your missions with Kakashi anyways. Now that Naruto is here, you will be a three-man squad—"

"We were and always will be a four-man cast," Naruto interjected. He saw Tsunade's eyes lock onto his. He flushed pink again. "W-with all due respect, I mean, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade nodded and said, "hm," and that was all. She sat back in her chair behind her desk, folded her hands together, pointer fingers clicked together. She thought for a while. The people in the room felt the seconds tick away. Then she resolved herself: "Sasuke Uchiha is a deserter."

Sakura felt surprise. Naruto grit his teeth. Jiraiya said nothing; his opinions on the matter were crystal-clear. He didn't give a _dog_ what happened to Sasuke Uchiha. He was a living liability that should've been ended the night Itachi decided his entire Clan was a flight-risk.

Tsunade looked from Sakura to Naruto unflinchingly. They both looked back. Not another word was uttered.

The persistent silence constantly invading the room was broken once more when the door burst open with great force.

The same guard from the village's front gates ran in, exasperated and huffing out breaths irregularly. He doubled over. His scent was musky. He smelled of sweat and adrenaline and something else. _Fear_. His face was caked in dirt and his hands were bruised, knuckles bleeding. His clothes were disheveled.

As he huffed his breaths his headband came loose. It slipped from his forehead and fell with a _CLANG_ on the floor.

Everyone flinched.

Tsunade arose from her seat immediately. "Izumo?! What the hell happened?!" she asked.

The exhausted shinobi looked up at her. He stopped his huffing and said, "Tsunade-sama—the village is under attack."

All five shinobi displayed surprise and shock and then juxtaposed it with determination and resolve. They all readied themselves. Tsunade didn't ask a single question. She grabbed her robe and swung it on in one smooth motion. A click resounded, like a diamond shattering, and markings appeared on her face.

The man stared at Tsunade's face. He looked empty in that moment, like everything in the world had been taken from him.

She locked eyes with him. _What?_ She didn't vocalize her thought. There was no time. They all readied themselves to move out.

The man named Izumo said, "_Hide the Princess._"

* * *

CHAPTER END.


	9. Hide the Princess

CHAPTER EIGHT:

* * *

"HIDE THE PRINCESS"

* * *

Unlike any other day—_today_, a loom of shadows sunned across the very clouds above Konohagakure. It felt like the village herself was silenced into fear. It was as if the world was waiting for some great tragedy and it was preparing it's land for the following mourning.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata trailed along her courtyard, deep in rumination, and childishly—unconsciously—counting the stars above. She weaved stories in her head. She imagined happiness could exist in the end.

Naruto was omnipresent in her thoughts.

She wished for a liberated life—or at least a better one—spent with the man she loved: _Uzumaki Naruto_.

An uneasy feeling settled itself within the pit of her stomach. And to add to her superstition, the byakugan only provided further unease in its _all seeing_ nature.

She often felt like she could see the future. She wondered if that could even be possible. Perhaps the Hyuuga were actual predictors—_psychics_ so to speak. _Just a bunch of hustling fortune-tellers_.

She hoped the feeling would disappear, and soon. It was keeping her from her beautiful daydreams.

"It is not wise to remain _so_ _awake…_"

A voice startled her. She leapt around, searching for its origins.

"Who's there?!"

"_I can steal your dreams, and I can feed you nightmares…_"

Red clouds fluttered before her eyes mesmerizingly. She felt entranced. She didn't recognize the men standing before her. They held steel pipes, jagged and sharp at the ends, in their grips. She was scared. Her brain thought at a million miles per second.

_These men are dangerous. These men are outsiders._ She saw the slashes upon their headbands. _They are missing-nin_.

She needed to warn the Hokage. She needed to warn the villagers. She had to protect her village! _I have to protect, Naruto!_

_They're here for Naruto. _She didn't know how she knew, she just did. It was an odd feeling, and she certainly acknowledged that fact. It was like she could see the group of men, clothed in red clouds, and Naruto, standing opposite each other—like she remembered seeing them in her dreams.

_She hoped she wasn't seeing the future._

She looked into the eyes of the one that appeared to be the group's leader. His eyes were purple. She felt spirals carve into her soul. Her fear amplified a thousand times stronger. She shivered audibly. Sweat trickled down her spine.

"I won't let you near Naruto!" She yelled defiantly. How brave. How foolish.

"_We're not here for Naruto_. We are here for _you_." The man uttered something unintelligible. Hinata felt the pull of gravity. She flew into his grasp. He nailed her hands together. She screamed in _pain_. The man said, "Naruto will come of his own."

_No! That can't be? Why her? And why would Naruto come to save her?_ She hoped he would be her saviour but she knew the difference between _Fantasy_ and _Reality_.

_Who would love a freak like me?_

* * *

Tsunade, Sakura, Shizune, and Jiraiya dashed out the doorway, faster than lightning.

Naruto stared at Izumo for a few seconds. Izumo stared back at him. Naruto grabbed him by the collar and they both jumped out through the window, tearing through the glass. It sounded like _a diamond shattering_.

Naruto landed swiftly upon a building-top. He had Izumo on his back. Naruto blitzed across the rooftops, a few steps behind his teammates. He interrogated Izumo as he played _catch-up_.

"What did you mean?" he asked.

Izumo asked, "What are you talking about," in between coughs and hiccups as they jittered and jumped building-to-building.

Naruto wasn't in a joking mood anymore. He was serious. "_Hide the Princess_. What does that mean?"

Izumo coughed some blood and said, "_They're_ here for _her_."

"Stop playing games, Izumo-san. The only princess I know of in Konoha is Tsuna—"

"No—no. There is another… You must hide her—they want her…_Hinata-sama_."

Naruto did a double-take as he came to the shocking realization of truth: _Hinata's a princess?_

"Why Hinata?"

Izumo rasped out _Byakugan_ before passing out on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto halted his procession and found a safe spot to rest Izumo—namely, the cot upon the rooftop above the Nara household. He rung the balcony bell and leapt off towards the place he sensed his teammates presence.

Shikamaru Nara would open his balcony door and find an injured Izumo unconscious on his favourite place to watch the clouds. Naruto was sure that would be enough to urge the lazy-ass to investigate.

Naruto thought about Hinata: the shy, timid, always-stuttering, always-pink-at-the-cheeks, and the ever-innocent girl. He wondered how she'd grown in the time he was gone. He smiled at the thought of her though he didn't notice—and he attributed the butterflies to the rooftop-jumping.

He felt his teammates gathering together. Where were they—_there!_

The Hyuuga Clan Compound. _Shit, it really was about Hinata_.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura all stood outside the gates to the compound. Naruto landed swiftly in front of them. None were startled. They'd sensed him coming a mile away. They are all in battle-mode.

Nobody said anything, they all seemed to stare at the gates, they were broken and mangled, as if some unearthly force had crushed them with it's bare hands (if such a force could have hands). They approached the gates. A barrier pulsed brokenly. It was supposed to guard from intruders. A failed bet.

Naruto tapped the barrier and it dissipated, mist-like. They all entered the compound. They split: Tsunade and Shizune and Sakura; Jiraiya and Naruto. Then Naruto and Jiraiya split. They made a few hand seals and disappeared.

* * *

Naruto peeked around the corner of a wall. Nothing. He ducked under an overpass and hopped atop a rooftop. He peered broad and narrow. He saw nothing, and he was most definitely sighted. The place was a goddamn ghost town. Naruto wondered, _What the hell happened?_

* * *

Jiraiya blitzed each room with swiftness and purpose. He found a main hall overlain with bodies and bodies of seemingly unconscious clansmen. He approached them invisibly—within the limits of his jutsu—and felt for a pulse. _A beat. A few more._ They were alive. And judging by their heart rates, simply asleep. _Somebody put them asleep, _Jiraiya surmised. He searched his surroundings for a sign or a hint that might indicate brute force, some sort of fallout, anything that might reveal an intrusion…_Nothing! Fuck!_

He knew it was bad. The Hyuuga were the strongest shinobi in the village. With that in mind, it was an impossibility that a single person could have managed such a dangerous feat.

_Remember, Jiraiya, the Uchiha boy did it_. He knocked that thought from his mind. Itachi was an exception. An anomaly. Anomalies don't exist in bulk; though when they appear, the outcome sure is a_ lump-sum_.

Jiraiya exited the room. He headed towards Naruto's presence. They needed to rendezvous. Whoever was here had already gotten what they came for: _Hinata_.

* * *

Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura scanned through the dark alleys and sharply, sun-lit streets and found nothing but dustballs cinematically floating away and sometimes comically smashing into each other.

Tsunade was the first to understand that whatever was supposed to happen here had already happened and they were late to the dinner table. They'd missed it all. She felt rut at herself. _Hokage, my ass_. She was brutal on herself.

Shizune must've heard the woman cussing herself out mentally. She was by her master's side and comforting the enraged Slug Princess.

Sakura ignored the two and split. She searched for Naruto's presence—_found it!_ She leapt off in his direction.

She reached him soon after. Naruto stood in what appeared to be a ritual room. There were more bodies stacked pile-high. Jiraiya stood beside him. She hadn't sensed Jiraiya. The man truly was a master and not just a pervert. It didn't comfort any part of her, knowing this. Adrenaline was coursing through her in anticipation of what might occur.

Naruto said nothing when Jiraiya and Sakura arrived by his side. Silence was their silent comrade in this whole operation.

Jiraiya was the one who disregarded that _caveat_. "It's a ghost town. Whoever was here got what they wanted. Notice anyone missing?"

Naruto said, "_Hinata._"

Sakura nodded her head in agreement.

Jiraiya _hmm'd_ and the three headed back to rendezvous with Tsunade and Shizune.

They located the pair in a room inside of one of the compound houses. It was a bedroom. It was Hinata's bedroom.

Sakura was by her master's side. Jiraiya waited by the doorway. Naruto stood dead centre and took in the atmosphere of the room. He felt Hinata's presence where he stood. It was sweet and comforting. It was affectionate. It was pure.

Naruto noticed what everybody else had. Jiraiya waited for him to spell it out like he always did.

There. Painted on the walls, in what looked like blood:

**UZUMAKI NARUTO THE PRINCESS IS IN THE AKATSUKI'S POSSESSION**

**IF YOU WANT HER BACK SHE WILL BE WAITING TO DIE**

**500 METRES SOUTH OF KONOHA**

**COME ALONE**

**SAVE THE PRINCESS**

**IF YOU CAN**

Everyone fell silent.

Their only thoughts were, _If we weren't able to hide the princess, we'll damn-sure save her!_

* * *

CHAPTER END.


	10. Save the Princess

CHAPTER NINE:

* * *

"SAVE THE PRINCESS"

* * *

Naruto grit his teeth. He stood still as a rock. Jiraiya noticed. Tsunade waited. Sakura examined the message with chakra. Shizune stood by her master's side. Sakura said, "It's blood—"

And Naruto was off.

Jiraiya was too slow to catch him.

They all panicked.

"Jiraiya—we have to stop him!"

Jiraiya nodded _obviously_ and blitzed off after the young man. Sakura followed, she barely managed to keep up. Tsunade flared her chakra, the markings on her face flashed brightly. She disappeared, blur-like.

Shizune was left to handle the aftermath of the compound; that would mean, waking up every man, woman, and child, alerting them to the current situation and rendezvousing with the elite ANBU simultaneously to aid Tsunade-sama. She began right away.

* * *

Naruto pounced through alleyways in nothing but a few strides and leaped miles across building-tops. He was unstoppable right now. He was motivated. He was determined to _save the princess_.

Everything Hinata pervaded his mind and his sight. He reached for her with every stride and every leap and bound. He was still too far away.

Villagers moved about undisturbed; oblivious to the dangerous happenings that had occurred a mere ten minutes ago within the Hyuuga Compound. A few of the villagers eyed him and berated his noisy movement with glares, like shooting daggers. Others observed him with confusion.

He flew out the gates—noticed Kotetsu lying blood-soaked in the dirt beside the gateway—kept on, never stopping, never turning to look back—_My first day back and it's like they were all waiting for me. _

He felt like he never should have returned. He felt like he was a curse. He felt like he truly was the monster he was branded as during his childhood's beginning. He felt a lot of things, and for once he couldn't stop himself from thinking about them.

Treetops rustle. Naruto hoisted himself onto a thick branch with ease. He heard leaves bristle behind him—_it's not a windy sorta day_—

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sakura all joined him upon adjoining branches and treetops. He eyed them dangerously. He turned down the anger. He sent out a plea with his heart and hoped it would reach them as he intended.

_No chance_.

"You're not thinking straight Naruto—"

Sakura was cut off abruptly.

"Not alone, Naruto. Not today. Not ever. You're not alone." Jiraiya meant it.

Naruto knew it. He still shook his head _no_ and pleaded once again: _They'll kill her if I don't come alone and I can't take that chance—I won't! _

Jiraiya heard his heart's plea wordlessly and said, "It doesn't matter what they said; we don't negotiate with terrorists."

Tsunade said, "C'mon, Naruto, we're your comrades." She smiled. He gave her a look that said _I'm sorry_. She didn't quite understand—

Naruto formed a hand seal—two fingers, both hands, staged across—_that jutsu!_

He yelled, "Kage-bunshin!" A clone popped into existence. It was a perfect clone. Naruto said nothing more. He turned his back and prepared to move on.

"I should have never taught you _that jutsu_," Jiraiya said with a chuckle in his throat. He wasn't angry. These were the actions that made Naruto, _Naruto—_he was a true saviour of saviours.

Jiraiya fell into a battle stance and folded his hands together. A light, mist-like aura beamed 'round the perimeter of his hands. He said, "Prepare yourselves." The other two looked at him dumbfounded. He didn't elaborate further, much to their annoyance.

The clone smirked. He threw off is cloak and garb and unraveled a layer of white bandages mummifying his body.

Jiraiya deadpanned. Sakura and Tsunade felt out of the loop—_then they saw it_.

Naruto's eyes…

_His pupils were like a toad's_.

* * *

Naruto felt guilt overcome him. He knew he did a bad thing and he felt terrible for fighting against those whom he loved but he had no choice. This fight belonged to him. Nobody else should die because of a stupid beast inside his belly. He heard a grumble from the pit of his stomach and scoffed—_fuck you fox_.

Naruto shut his eyes as he leapt across endless branches. He breathed in. He undid his cloak and rolled down his garb. He tugged on the bandages on his neck—one tug unraveled the whole mummification on his body.

His body was covered in ink tattoos. They were seal markings—_all of them_. Every. Single. One.

The seals began to glow. Naruto breathed out. He opened his eyes—_everything is in it's right place_.

His eyes were pigmented around the lids, a deeper shade—like blood—and his pupils had constricted and fallen slant, not unlike a toad's.

_Sage Mode._

His next leap thrust him across five times further than ten leaps would have gotten him before he entered Sage Mode. He felt powerful—_I am powerful_. He felt the enemy long before he caught sight of them. Sage Mode allowed his senses fully uninhibited exposure to _life_ as it were—no filters. He halted his treetop-pursuit, gathered his bearings, measured out the scene at hand.

There were six men, all wearing the Akatsuki garb—_red clouds_—and heavily bejewelled; they were all body-piercing fanatics, or at least it would appear so. Naruto saw deeper into that fanaticism—_all six can't just be fanatics and together by coincidence_. He knew there had to be a reason. All of 'em looked pretty much the same, despite the weight and gender differences. _Orange hair, black cloaks, red clouds, body piercings, purple eyes…must be a dojutsu. The old pervert never told me anything about an eye technique like this?_

He couldn't discern the secret behind the six men's shared fanaticism. He pushed that thought away and began to formulate some sort of plan.

* * *

Naruto attacked relentlessly. He was _really_ trying to keep them at bay. He was _really_ trying to go it all alone. Tsunade took each hit unflinchingly; any damage taken was repaired instantly with her Mitotic Regeneration. She fought back—_tough kid_.

Jiraiya had asked her and Sakura to cover him while he prepared his jutsu. She knew what he was doing, she'd seen it once before, a long, long time ago. She never thought she'd see the day where Jiraiya would feel forced enough to have to use _that jutsu_ again—_what the fuck did you teach that kid?_

Sakura assisted her master as best as she could. She felt his hits connect with her body despite dodging each attack. This was unknown territory to her—and nothing was ever unknown to her; Sakura Haruno was the jutsu-expert; the resident booksmart kunoichi. She scrutinized his movements and finally noticed what was hiding beneath the bandages all this time.

Naruto's body was covered in smudges—_ink_—they looked like markings—_tattoos?_—she couldn't tell for sure. They glowed vibrantly.

* * *

Naruto shifted quietly from treetop to treetop. The six men were gathered together, all huddled in a type of prostration in the middle of a semi-open clearing. He searched for Hinata; he couldn't feel her chakra. In truth he had been gone for more than long enough to have forgotten it's nature entirely. He looked between thick trunks and narrow uproots of the unruly wild encompassing everything; he looked past the six Akatsuki-men.

In his search for her, he realized the fact that not a single physical trap was laid out to surprise him were he to plan an ambush (and he had a plan alright).

He peered across the clearing and caught his sight on the fringes of a knot tied 'round the trunk of a tree; it blended perfectly into the shrubbery of the tree—well enough that he'd failed to notice it; _twice_ he'd scanned the clearing.

He focused on the spot where the knot was tied, felt her there—_ah, that's what her chakra felt like—_it was more of a visual sense—_I remember now: It was purple._

Naruto readied himself. He formed the hand seals to his trademark jutsu—

Before he could execute the technique he felt a push—no a _tug_—no, it was a fucking _pull_, and a strong one at that. He was dragged off his cozy little treetop out into the vast clearing, bare, handicapped, and open to attack from all directions.

He didn't understand it—_it_ being the gravitational paradox that had just pulled him down from his _high_ (no not that kind don't do drugs naru don't do it o no don't). The six men looked at him nonchalantly. He didn't like it. He felt underestimated—and he _hated_ being underestimated. He determined himself to prove them all wrong like he once did thirteen years ago (fuck all of em every single one i hate em i love em i hate em but i have friends now no you don't and i still proved em wrong laughable you still haven't become hokage first then talk stupid stupid stupid)

"Kyuubi…"

One of the six men interjected the frenzy between Naruto's brain and his heart. The man's voice was deep. It was Godly; it was scary and painful yet reassuring all at the same time. The only problem was _Naruto hated God_. And this _asshole_ had Hinata.

Naruto grit his teeth so hard he pierced the inside of his cheek. Blood teared from the corner of his mouth. He gritted his teeth even harder. With clenched fists and a rage in his eyes (you can see the flames o they burn bright don't they) he yelled, "_WHATTHEFUCKDOYOUWANTWITHHINATAYOUBASTARD!?_"

He didn't answer.

"_Naruto-kun!_"

Naruto's eyes flickered over to the knotted tree trunk. He felt Hinata on the other side. He heard her voice yell those words out, he was sure it was her—he was _sure!_

Naruto called out, "Hinata!" but his mouth felt like it was glued shut. He resisted. It was futile. He wriggled mid-air like a balloon losing it's air. He wasted energy he didn't have.

The telekinetic-man heard Hinata. He raised his hand in the direction of the knotted tree. It felt like Naruto heard his Intent—

_PULL—HERE—_

The knot snapped free, the rope fell to the floor, Hinata swung 'round the trunk—he pulled her full-throttle—her throat met his grip; he squeezed.

Naruto muffled, "UBAWSTARWSD!"

The man actually smirked. He scoffed at Hinata's face and the sight of Naruto's face. He saw the fire raging inside him. He wanted to extinguish that rage and that determination; replace it was something somber. He _hoped_ to _help_ Naruto _understand—_

_DESPAIR—_

The man squeezed harder now.

Hinata's eyes widened. She felt her windpipe being crushed by the sheer force of the man's grip.

_NOW DIE…KNOW PAIN—_

A kunai sunk itself deep into the depths of the telekinetic-man's grip-hand. He lurched backwards, dropping Hinata and Naruto from his physical and metaphysical grip, and howled in _pain_. A barrage of shuriken followed that initial attack, forcing all six men to take on their defences. The telekinetic-man pulled the kunai out of his hand and stopped the rain of ammo aiming to devastate him with his gravity-jutsu. The other five raised their hands and launched their own shuriken

_Ah, so not all can wield the force of gravity_.

More shurikens from different angles, then even more, eventually it was just a dangerous rain of metal from every direction. The telekinetic-man looked at the spot where he dropped Hinata and Naruto—_they were missing!_

He felt his own rage boil—then:

"**_BANSHŌ TEN'ĪN!_**"

It sounded like God had had enough of the world and it's impure (immoral) ways and had finally _spoken_.

The rain of shuriken stopped in it's place and fell to the forest floor in a single, weightless motion.

A beat, then—_Deva—there—behind you…_

The telekinetic-man ducked in time—he dodged a rather large weapon; it appeared to be in the shape of a fuma-shuriken but it's entire composition was purely made up of chakra. It was as white as heaven; it was blue like the sky. It made a sound like the cry of _a thousand birds_.

The chakra-shuriken _expanded_.

_Preta!_

_Got it—_

The man he called Preta huddled his arms in front of him and took on a look of sheer consternation. _Pull_. His pull was of a different kind. The expanded chakra-shuriken shrunk inch-by-inch. It was a tedious sight. Eventually, the jutsu dissipated into nothingness entirely. This one was capable of jutsu-absorption; ninjutsu was an effort in futility.

_Oyy—Deva—on your left!_

Deva (the telekinetic-man) didn't even look. He raised his hand in the direction Preta's eyes saw and tugged—_Pull! _

Naruto flew out from between the shrubbery. He thought he was hidden. _Nothing can be hidden from me—my eyes, yes MY EYES, they see everything. I see your truth Kyuubi. Let me show you true pain, as I've known my whole life…_

* * *

Hinata felt the tug from beside her. Naruto flew off, unclothed of the blanketing-forest. She panicked, just like she'd panicked when Naruto was hit head on by the rain of shuriken—_it was only a clone_. Still, she'd felt her heart shatter despite the fact.

Hinata laid prone in the bushes wearing nothing but her kimono from home, a pair of short-shorts, and a thin, white tanktop—no bra. Her kimono was torn to shreds. She felt something wet against her thighs and knees. She realized she'd pissed herself—probably when she was being throttled to death.

The six men struck an immense amount of fear in her. She had hidden it from them, though she had a feeling that they knew anyway—_Pain_—that was what they called themselves. Each one was eponymous with the literal word. They were demons, all of them. In some ways, they were even worse. The way they preached about pain was delusional (they were craaaaaaazzzzyyyyyy).

From what she'd seen, Hinata was able to discern between all six. Despite sharing the same name, they were in no way the same at all—_they don't even look human_. Each called himself 'Pain,' yet they called each other by different _titles_. She had heard four out of the six's titles:

Preta: the man immune to ninjutsu. She knew because she'd tried.

Naraka: this one held life and death within his _eyes_. Hinata had seen him heal and revive on of the six Pains she'd managed to 'break.'

Asura: this was the one she 'broke.' He seemed the least human of them all. He did not have organs, nor did he have normal _appendages_; his entire body was filled with nuts and bolts and mechanical weaponry. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

Unknown #1: this one was crazy; he talked to ghosts. She didn't quite understand it. She'd seen him pull the living soul out of one of her clansmen. She would never forget the sight. The soul looked dirty and she heard him break it like it were nothing but a bunch of twigs.

Unknown #2: all animals belonged to this one. It was uncanny.

Deva: he seemed to be the leader of them all. They all sort of followed him. He wielded gravity, at least it appeared that way. He can attract and repel objects at will. He was the one to capture her. He was a preacher. He talked as if he was God. It scared Hinata. His eyes were menacing. He had stared into her byakugan unflinchingly when he told her that _today was the day she was going to die._

Hinata recalled Naruto's voice from moments ago. It had renewed her. He was her saviour. Naruto was her for her—_for her!_ It was at that moment she had felt pure faith overtake her senses. She didn't believe Naruto could lose. She turned her gaze forward.

Naruto was prone on the ground—six metal rods pierced his body and jutted outwards at grotesque angles.

* * *

Naruto's plan failed. He always used his clones as diversions. This enemy was unlike any other he'd faced before. He felt powerless against someone who could will anything anywhere. It was like fighting against God. How could you ever hope to win when he already knew what you were going to do next. God was just baiting you the whole time—letting him throw a few punches here and there; it was purely for His divine entertainment.

_So this is the Akatsuki, huh?_

"_Kyuubi._"

There it was again. He called him that _name_ like he was that _thing_.

"This night was not meant for battle. You would've done well to surrender peacefully. You are a willful _thing_. Pitiful. You fight back because you do not know the consequence. You don't know true pain. And now—_she _will die."

Panic flooded Naruto. Fear too—_Die?_

"And then you can say that you indeed know true—"

"Kill me instead!" Naruto yelled out.

The man known as Pain incarnate eyed Naruto curiously. He saw a flash or a spark of something deep inside him. Pain smirked asshole-like. He shook his head no and said, "She will still die. I've already decided." (Deva) Pain looked to where he'd _pulled_ Naruto from within the shrubbery. He was patient. He waited. He looked. He waited longer. _There—_he saw a lock of purple hair. He reached outwards—_PULL!_

Hinata was pulled into (Deva) Pain's grips once more. This time he held a kunai to her throat. She hovered a few inches off the ground, her toes trembled in fear. Wet stains of blood and piss had dried up on the sides of her legs. She felt ashamed. She couldn't bear to look Naruto in the eyes.

Pain trailed his kunai down Hinata's neck, to her bosom—undulated the tip above her left breast, right on top of her heart.

Naruto actually cried. Tears streamed down his face as he witnessed the word and the man _happen_ to _him _at the same time. Hinata was his comrade. He had failed her. He felt everything go dark. He was losing light. In between cries, "_Let her go—please…I beg you…take the fox, just leave Hinata-chan._"

Hinata's heart cried as she heard the affectionate remark Naruto had attached to the end of her name. She had dreamt about moments like when he would call her so lovingly—just not like this. She was going to die, and she upset because she had yet to tell the man she loved her true feelings.

"Know true pain."

_SINK_.

Everything seemed dull all of a sudden. Hinata's world lost colour for a moment. Everything blurred, then her sights locked straight onto Naruto's eyes. She felt a sharp pain. _Heartbreak? Is this what it feels like? _She mouthed his name—_Naruto? Can you hear my voice? _Nothing came out except for a bloodletting gasp, followed by tears and heaps of blood gushing forward. Death gripped her throat. Still, she tried again, she had to; she mouthed: _I love you_…

_Red._ All he saw was _red_. Naruto felt nothing except hatred, that, in seconds, he had decided to bury so deep. His ability to hate scared him, but he revelled in it; in this moment he needed it. So he let go of everything.

_Go. Have your way, fuckin' fox—_

A piercing cry, louder than bombs, erupted throughout the forestry.

Pain observed in silence. He felt the raw power. He saw the untamed chakra coursing beyond Naruto, bleeding him out, tearing him apart from the inside out, like his skin and his muscles were peeling off of his bones.

"**_GWUUAAAHAHHHH!_**" Naruto—_no_—this was the _beast_. The Nine-Tailed Fox roared with anger and giddiness. (finally free). It moved swiftly, it's impacts leaving craters of destruction; it was like a feather weighed by an anchor. Naruto's Intent bled through too—_Kill!_ And he made his mark. He struck at _every. Single._ _Pain_.

(Deva) Pain continued observing as the Nine-Tails obliterated every other Pain. He'd created them all. They were his 'Paths' as he called them. The sight was heartbreaking and beautiful. Seeing your creations destroyed—it was the circle of life. He sighed as he caught onto the futility of the beasts' acts. He raised his hands towards it and uttered a single phrase—"**_Banshō Ten'īn._**"

The Nine-Tails was tugged towards (Deva) Pain violently. There was power behind the pull—far more than before. The beast felt the strong tug on it's bones, dislocating joints inside. It sailed violently into his grip.

Pain caught the beast with his bare hands and smashed it, head-first, into the ground. He pulled tether-like cords and poles—_those same rods_—out of his body, snapped them off, and pinned him through and through. He hit every vital spot. The beast whined and screeched like an angry little child, but it could not move. It's cries smeared the skies in _crimson_.

(Deva) Pain felt something—_chakra signatures_—they moved in synchronicity. There were three; two of the three held enormous amounts of chakra. He could feel the three closing in, and fast—_this is getting out of hand_. All of his paths had been destroyed, not a shred of their existence left, and the _damned_ beast was making too much noise. So much for a simple Bait & Capture.

* * *

Hinata's eyes blinked and blurred, her sight flitting in and out of lightness and darkness. She is dying—_it hurts so much_.

She observed Naruto through the blurred lines of her vision. She saw the hatred and the pain he'd buried within. She didn't need her byakugan to look inside. She saw the man behind the beast with her plain-old, naked eye. A tear escaped her. It was now or never. She needed him to know. She needed to tell him that he wasn't alone; that he was _loved_; that _she_ loved him.

"N-naruto-kun?…" Her voice was hoarse and the tone she spoke with dragged, like boots across gravel.

_He heard her._

Hope sparked in her eyes; a bright, dying light. "Naruto-kun—listen. I know you can hear me. I can feel the real _you_ inside the beast. Naruto-kun…I'm going to die." It took all of her to not let her voice crack a single decibel or consonant. "But before that, before everything, there's something…you might think it's silly—" she masked her death-coughs with what sounded like attempts to chuckle. "The truth is—_I love you_…_I love you, Naruto-kun_. So please, _live_ for me. Don't fall to…t-to," her voice broke a hair, "to that _beast_. Take control; take control for yourself. _Please_."

_Blood peeled away_—it poured into the atmosphere, softening the air. Kyuubi's demonic face retreated. Naruto's face revealed itself; he become a man again. Naruto opened his eyes; they were slits—pulsing—red and bright. It scared her. They constricted into their circular form once more. He became _human_ for _her._ His eyes bled tears. His heart ached.

"_Hinata…_" He uttered her name so heartbroken. He'd missed the signs and now lost this chance; his chance—_my only chance_. And then he felt rut at feeling so selfish at this moment—_Hinata was dying. Priorities. Precedence._

Hinata laid beside Naruto—the spot where (Deva) Pain had dropped her. She reached out to him—he flinched. He returned his cheek to her soft hands. She caressed him for a moment and stared deeply into his eyes—_oh those orbs of light._ She smiled. She coughed blood. She smiled through it. That moment, right then—her smile—it was the most honest thing he'd ever seen. She was the most beautiful woman in the world right then.

"_Naruto-kun,_" Hinata coughed, continued, "don't _hate_. Never hate. _Love_."

Naruto cried into her hands. She shook her head weakly.

"No…don't cry. I love you, Naruto-kun…don't waste it…don't waste my love. Please…please…" Her eyes fluttered. She felt weak. She felt the darkness getting stronger. She couldn't see Naruto-kun's face anymore. She felt his hot tears warm the palms of her hands. It was nice. She didn't mind dying like this. She felt morbidly comfortable with the whole ordeal. "I don't feel so well, I think I'll go to sleep now. Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

Her pleading poured a thought into his brain. He felt overwhelmed with emotion unlike he'd ever felt before. A swirl of butterflies, an upside down, upwards-downwards, _every-which-way_ type of feeling. He'd never felt so confused yet so certain his entire life.

_Love—_

Naruto saw her eyes shut. He felt her hands fall to the ground limply. He knew she was gone, yet the smile never left her face. She died accomplishing the one thing she'd sought to achieve in life: _Naruto_. She gasped her final breath of life; she went out in a whisper of happiness. It was a beautiful sight. And all she saw was a _yellow flash—_

Flames and fury erupted. Red and yellow and orange and bright. He felt full of life and the breath of the wild; Naruto became more than a man. He ascended his form—_What is this?_

He felt lighter—freer—then before. He didn't feel so overburdened. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Everything felt exactly right. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be.

(Deva) Pain observed Naruto's transformation. It was indeed an unexpected turn of events—_Has he mastered the beast?_

Naruto took himself in, breathed the air, felt the flames roll off his body in cool wisps of chakra. Seals descended past his shoulders down to his toes.

_Shiki-Fuuin._ _So this is the Fourth's design. This is my destiny?_

"**Pain…**" His voice was deeper; it boomed with a greater edge in it. He held power in his being. "**…You know nothing about it. Know true pain. Allow me to show you—**"

_BOOM!_

Naruto's fist rested in the thick trunk of a rather large tree, mere inches away from (Deva) Pain's neck. The Rinnegan had saved him his body but his mind had felt fright; _fear_ was _alive_. And all he saw…was a _yellow flash._

Before a word was spoken, Naruto cocked his fist back, took aim, and launched his fist downwards once more—_the time for words is over_. (Deva) Pain dodged the fist again. Naruto responded by dragging his fist across the tree trunk, shredding the bark, towards (Deva) Pain's head. Splinters flew in every direction. A few caught in (Deva) Pain's cheek.

Naruto was a being of pure Action in that moment. _No hesitation. No talking._

(Deva) Pain shifted away from the tree, twisting his body (he looked like a contortionist, circus-type). He leapt to another piece of forestry.

_No rest_.

Naruto appeared instantly, as if he was mirroring his actions. He followed with a tip-toed ease in his footsteps. His every leap was as gentle as a feather but as fast as lightning. There was no escape.

(Deva) Pain had no options. So he stood rock-still, positioned his hands outwards; his palms were outstretched and his body rigid. He willed every particle of chakra within him to _move_. He yelled, "**SHINRA TENSEI!**"

The forest was blown to bits. Trees here. Branches there. It was all a pile of dirt and twigs and untamed nature.

Naruto did not move an inch. His flames grew even stronger.

"**OOUUUUAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!**" He rushed through the gravitational _push_. It was clear then, that rules didn't apply to Naruto—not now and not here. He would break the sacred laws of the universe if he had to in order to kill this man—(Deva) _Pain_.

His senses flashed endlessly for a moment—he felt multiple chakra sources inbound. _Jiraiya-Sensei, Tsuna-chan, Sakura-chan. _They landed in synchronized form. They all caught the image of the Naruto (he looks like he's on fire he's so bright so bright and warm like the sun) that stood before them. Shock would perhaps be an understatement. They could not gauge his strength nor his chakra, it was beyond their cognition. The two turned to Jiraiya hoping for an explanation. He did not respond, he simply observed Naruto's form with a nostalgic expression marring his face.

_Minato…_

They all saw Hinata at the same time. Tsunade felt rut at her failure; she wasn't able to protect her comrade. Tears poured down Sakura's cheeks. She didn't hold anything back. Hinata was her comrade; they had performed many missions together; they knew each other from since they had all graduated and made Genin onto their respective teams. Jiraiya's face was panicked; his sight was stuck on (Deva) Pain. There was something familiar about him. Maybe that's why he said what he did next…

"NARUTO! RETREAT!" Jiraiya yelled. Naruto did not budge. Jiraiya didn't imagine that he would. He expected the non-reaction.

"**The enemy is within our hands, Sensei, retreat is illogical**." He still wasn't used to his voice; it surprised the others too.

"Naruto—retreat! This is an order!" Naruto remained still. He was only a few meters away from his target. A single step would take him to his destination. He would be brutal and swift.

Then too many things overwhelmed him. He lost sight of the goal—_his_ goal—_Hinata's Love_. He lost sight of himself; he forgot what he was fighting for; he forgot to _love_.

The flames flickered, then sparked out in a dull and smokey display of failure in the flesh. Naruto was not a Being any longer. He returned to his human form once more, but somewhere, deep inside, he felt lower than that.

His eyes flickered, the flames sparked once—twice—threatening to rage once more—before dying out completely. His eyes rolled into his head and his body lost to the gravity Pain designed—and then came the fall…

Naruto lost consciousness and began a descent to the dirt-floor. He felt it all in a kind of slow-motion. His last thought as his eyes flittered into the darkness were—_why love a freak like me…huh, Hinata?_

He was out cold before he got his answer. Sakura caught him before his body hit the ground. Jiraiya covered her as she retreated with Naruto draped around her shoulders piggy-back style.

Jiraiya regarded Pain with a disappointed look in his eye. "Leave," he said tersely.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock and a hint of something like betrayal—_Leave!? What the hell is he thinking?!_

"Leave," Jiraiya repeated once more. A tear escaped his eye. "_Yahiko—_I will not repeat myself after this. You are receiving a _student's benefit_. _SO LEAVE!_"

(Deva) Pain—the one Jiraiya called Yahiko—stared into the old man's eyes and reminisced upon a memory for a few moments. He pulled his comrades towards his body—_pull_—and disappeared in a _BANG!_ and a _POP!_ He. Just. Vanished.

Jiraiya watched the afternoon sun at it's peak. Sakura had already left in the direction of Konoha General. Tsunade stood behind him; she stared into his back. The sunlight blinded him. He didn't care.

Shuffles and thumps indicated the arrival of their backup. Tsunade turned to see six ANBU soldiers by her side—weapons blazing. She thought, _So much for some backup_.

Jiraiya—with his back turned:

"So much for a fucking _homecoming_."

* * *

CHAPTER END.


	11. Tanuki Dreams

CHAPTER TEN:

* * *

"TANUKI DREAMS"

* * *

**SUNAGAKURE...**

* * *

"_I will save Suna 'till I breathe my last breath_"_—_

* * *

_A piercing cry, louder than bombs erupted_ throughout the village.

* * *

Gaara succumbed to sleep in order to protect his village from the wretched _Akatsuki_. A strange man with mouths for hands and long blonde-hair attacked him relentlessly with an arsenal of bombs made of clay—formed by his mouth-like hands.

Explosion after explosion, Gaara's sand overheated—turned to glass—the shattered splinters of glass flew everywhere. In his attempt to contain the blast, Gaara suffered deep cuts all across his body. His newly minted Kazekage garbs were torn to shreds. His hair was unkempt—it was longer now. His eyes looked tired. He never lost hope.

_Come, Shukaku—reign terror!_

The beast was released instantaneously in a whirlwind of sand particles. Shukaku stood tall—he could level the entire village of the Sand with a single footstep. Shukaku chuckled madly. It was unnerving. He was scary. Gaara hoped the beast would sympathize with his cause; for once this fight involved the both of them; their fates were intertwined and that entanglement would not be easily unravelled.

Deidara, aka 'Mouth-Hands,' shat himself at the sight of the large beast. He'd never imagined the size of it to be that _big_. Oh well…Deidara dug his hands into two rather large pouches—hung on each side of his hips—and popped out two clay formations. He yelled "_Katsu!_" and flung them full throttle towards the large beast. They exploded. Smoke ushered forth. Smoke dissipated. Shukaku stood tall and unaffected. Deidara felt sweat trickle down the side of his forehead.

It wasn't going to be an easy battle…

* * *

Deidara huffed his breath in short gasps. He was out of steam. Out of clay. Out of it all. His clothes were torn to shreds. His Akatsuki cloak was nothing but shredded noodles of fabric splayed over the sand-floor.

Shukaku finally fell. Sand fell in heaps. It washed over Deidara comically, as if he weren't tired enough already that he also had to bear the burden of the sand—_why the fuck is it so heavy?_

Gaara appeared from inside of the beast as it's structure broke apart—back into a million sand particles—and fell towards the sand-floor, near unconsciousness. Deidara lurched his hand forth and ushered one of his clay-creations forward, in Gaara's direction. A broken bird hovered and flew pitifully underneath Gaara, barely catching the newly-elected Kazekage. It returned to the sand-floor.

Deidara trudged over to Gaara. He was still awake. There were tears in his eyes. He grinned at the tears. Gaara turned his face in the other direction—he stared at his village.

He failed his village as their Kazekage.

_Forgive me—all of you…_

_Forgive me—Kankuro, Temari…_

_I really hoped to see you again—Naruto._

Deidara stomped his foot on Gaara's face. The Jinchūriki fell into the depths of unconsciousness; he dreamt _Tanuki Dreams _then.

* * *

**KONOHAGAKURE...**

* * *

_I love you, Naruto-kun…_

_Love…_

_I…love…you…_

_I…loooooovvveeeee…yoooouuuuuu…_

* * *

_BLINK_

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes. He still heard _her_ voice reverberate in his ears as dissonant echoes. It echoed like a foreign language he couldn't understand. _Love—what is it?_ He never truly knew it. And he'd just lost his chance at ever getting it. _If only he'd seen all the signs!_

He was aware of where he was—he occupied the confines of a dimly lit underground sewer. It was his rutty old mind's architecture. It was the place where everything was. He felt like his thought was incomplete but felt it was best that way.

Naruto walked the conjoined, broken hallways of his mind-scape. It was a place he was accustomed to yet could never remember. There was no map to his brain; just a feeling to follow as his guide.

He observed the pipelines connecting and disconnecting intravenously within his mind-scape. Funny representations of his chakra. He felt warm—that was the Sage Mode probably. He could sense his impending arrival at the Meeting Place; a place him and the beast convened.

He saw the giant prison gates, it's bars were taller than mountains and it's depths reached farther than the distance it took to go 'round the world—_twice_. He felt the beast's hot breath flush through the bars. The metal steamed from the heat (o so much anger and hatred and pith and the intent is to kill don't you see). Naruto stood knee-deep within a puddle of water. The floodgates were passing through. He was _sinking_.

Naruto was used to the feeling of sinking. He had drowned so often in his own head he'd picked up the ability to breathe under water. He allowed the water to fully submerge him and the rest of the prison chamber. He felt like he was in Atlantis—except this was the lost place of his thoughts, not some great wonder.

He heard movement. Loud thuds and slams. The beast had retreated into the far depths of it's cage. Naruto pursued. He glided through the still-steaming prison bars with a ghostly ease. He didn't fear the beast—_fuckin' fox_.

Naruto willed the depths of the cage to light up—they did—and scoured every inch of the place in search of the Kyuubi. No luck. But that's impossible. _Ooooh_.

He turned around and saw the beast—hand cocked back, mouth snarling, salivating at the teeth, fur aglow with red and bubbly chakra-shit—he raised his palm towards the beast and flipped his hand in a downward motion. The beast fell down too. The Kyuubi was crushed flat by some unknown gravity wielded by Naruto—only it was not gravity at all; this place never operated by the sacred laws of physics—it's cocked-back arm in an awkward position, and it's every tail tangled up by it's feet.

Kyuubi growled weakly (ooouuuahhhhhhh grrrroooowwwwllllll). Clearly, Naruto using the Kyuubi's chakra unadulterated had impacted the beast in some sort of way. The beast was thinner and appeared more sickly. It struck a feeling in Naruto; he pushed the feeling down.

Naruto remembered his failure—he saw flashes of the man called Pain—saw Hinata, bloody, dying, still smiling—Naruto's tears mixed into the underwater atmosphere. The cage changed colours. Naruto saw his whole world painted on its insides. Kyuubi saw too.

Hinata's face was fresh in his mind and appeared everywhere. Her name echoed in whispers around the cage. He held his head in pain and sorrow. Kyuubi shed a tear—it bled out of his eye and faded into the atmosphere—Naruto_ did not notice_.

"Why?" Naruto whispered out. His voice was unaffected by being underwater. "Why do I always fail?! WHY!? WHY!? WHYYY!? DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT!—"

Kyuubi watched him throw his tantrum. He had no patience for this kind of crap. Kyuubi was old (like many millenniums typa shit) and had seen more than a million lifetimes' worth of loss; he'd _felt _loss too. He didn't want to talk about it.

Naruto beat his fists at nothing, punching weightily through the water-sphere. Bubbles popped and scurried upwards. Naruto finally stopped. He huffed out deep breaths. For the very first time, he was so tired of it all, even in his mind he was short of breath. The anxiety was too real.

Kyuubi stared. Naruto locked eyes with _it_. Stared back. Staring contest (whoever blinks first). Kyuubi blinked. It's eyes were a softer shade. It surprised Naruto. Naruto's eyes were hollow. Kyuubi fought against the weight pushing him down. It arose to it's feet and stood tall and mighty, shaking under the pressure ready to pull him back down. It looked devilishly at Naruto. Naruto still hadn't blinked yet. Kyuubi _smiled?_ Naruto didn't understand—and then it clicked, like he heard the beast talk (but the beast never talks it stays quiet it vowed to the blonde bratty child that it would stay mum and mums the word so if he speaks what does it mean?).

The beast spoke in staccatos:

**_Naruto—don't cry—stand tall—don't cry—be a great man—don't cry—be strong—don't cry—be an avenger—don't cry, Naruto, don't cry_**

Naruto gave the beast a _huh-what?_ expression—

Too late.

The water fizzled. The floodgates drained. Water dissipated. Naruto bubbled away with the water. All he saw was a smiling Kyuubi.

* * *

_BLINK_.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes. He didn't hear Hinata's voice anymore. He wanted to hear it. It soothed him and was the reason he cried harder when he'd hear it. The sound of her didn't echo within him. He was disappointed and yet relieved.

He found himself in a comfy electric bed. It was a huge improvement from the dingy old hospital beds that creaked and squeaked even when he breathed. He tried to sit up, found every atom in his body aching and shouting at him—_lay the fuck still_.

Naruto's Sage Mode still thrived; natural energy coursed through his veins. He wouldn't be stopped—truth be told, he _couldn't_. And he knew it the moment he'd discovered the key to harnessing natural energy while mobile. It was a breakthrough; it was revolutionary. Jiraiya was proud. He recalled the old pervert's smile—_fuck, he was grinning like a toothless old bull_. He remembered how it made him feel. He remembered the pats on the back he'd received from Ma and Pa.

Sure, it was a breakthrough—it was also quite permanent. That's why he wore the bandages. And right now—there were no bandages. _Probably why every muscle in my body feels like someone took it to the shredder_.

Naruto succumbed to his supine state of being. He peered off towards his left. Sakura sat upon a comfortable armchair with a book in her hands. He read the title off of the spine: _The Forbidden Art of Fuuinjutsu_. He would smirk but it hurt too bad. She was always such a keen girl, even when they were Academy hopefuls. She was trying to figure out his _tattoos_. She wouldn't. They weren't in any book. He spent a year and a half coming up with the design. It was an original creation. He would never be known for it, but Uzumaki Naruto was a pioneer in Fuuinjutsu; by proxy of creating a seal not even their First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was able to theorize.

Sakura threw the book down in her lap in a heap. She, for one in her life, was unable to grasp the theory behind fuuinjutsu. She saw Naruto awake, tossed the book aside and was by his side in an instant. She ran her hands through his hair. He ached in pain.

She asked, "What's wrong—Naruto? Your vitals seem fine. But you're in pain?"

Naruto deadpanned. He spoke with great effort, saying, "Sakura-chan…J-j-Jiraiya-S-Sensei…" He proceeded to coo in pain. Sakura ran off to find Jiraiya.

She returned momentarily. The man was only just outside the room, pacing up and down the hallway, thinking about the events of that day and his student named Yahiko. He heard Sakura's call and was by her side in the blink of an eye.

They both returned to Naruto's room. He saw Jiraiya and looked relieved. Jiraiya asked _What?_ with his eyes. Naruto responded by looking in the direction of his weapons pouch.

Jiraiya picked it up and rattled it by his ear comically. Naruto deadpanned. He urged him to _open it_. Jiraiya did. He searched around. A roll of tape fell to the floor. Naruto lurched—ached—fell back to his bed. Jiraiya caught the reaction.

_That?_

Naruto nodded.

Jiraiya picked up the tape and held it in front of his eyes. He examined it. He pulled a piece of it off and held it up to the light—it turned blacker than a starless night-sky. He was shocked. He stared at Naruto's seals still glowing a-bright. _You idiot _was his exact thought at that moment. Jiraiya was not aware of the details of Naruto's seal design. It was impossible to replicate and that's what made it unique. Naruto was the only person who knew the secrets to the design; its every weakness and strength rested within his head. And he'd clearly failed to mention that he could never turn the damn thing off without an opposing seal—the opposer being the tape in his hands. There was a script written over the tape in a language he couldn't decipher. _Kami, Naruto, how far did you go with this?_

Naruto smiled awkwardly.

Sakura was completely out of the loop.

Jiraiya spent the next 20 minutes bandaging Naruto's seal-markings. Once done, Naruto's body noticeably relaxed; until that moment neither of the two had realized that his muscles were so tensed the entire time.

Naruto seemed tired. Jiraiya ushered Sakura out. He figured the boy deserved a proper rest.

* * *

Naruto had been in and out of sleep more than a few times. The lights were all dimmed down in the hospital. He was checked in for an overnight he supposed. His muscles needed to heal anyways; Kyuubi would help with that part, whether it liked it or not.

He heard a growl. _Fuck you, Fox_. But it wasn't Kyuubi and the growl didn't come from inside his head.

He heard it again.

Naruto swerved his head to his left. A creature lingered by the open doorway—_funny, I don't remember Sakura-chan leaving the door open_.

The creature was dog-like. Naruto squinted his eyes. He discerned the creature's distinct features. It was brown and black. It was covered in sand and there was sand by it's feet. _Weird_. The creature trilled and cawed. It made every sound other than what a dog is supposed to make. It looked sorta like a racoon, now that Naruto thought about it (tanuki tanuki tanuki)—

_Ooohh, it's a tanuki dog_.

The creature began to walk away. It moved weakly. Naruto noticed, then, that the creature was wounded. Blood leaked from it's side. He swung his blanket off of him and hopped off his bed in an effort to follow the creature. He looked down and found a pair of slippers by his bedside. He slipped into them.

When he looked up the tanuki was gone. He stared thoughtfully at the doorway.

"—Naruto?" he heard a voice ask.

Naruto snapped his head in the direction of the voice. _Sakura-chan?_

All of a sudden it got brighter in the room. He saw his teammate sitting in that same armchair. _Was I daydreaming?_

"I think you're daydreaming," Sakura said. She walked up to him and put a hand to his forehead. "You don't feel warm." She regarded him, then said, "I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind, Naruto, try not to let it overwhelm you right now. You need to rest."

Naruto gave Sakura a smile and laid back in bed. He knew he wouldn't sleep. He couldn't. He'd been in and out of dreams since yesterday—or was it still today? He didn't know. He didn't care.

He settled on waiting for Sakura to fall into her own sleep. And then he'd slip out unnoticed.

He needed to see _Hinata_.

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: Hope y'all are enjoying.**

**Drop a review about what you think will happen next on, "Naruto, an Epic!"**


	12. Uchiha Madara

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

* * *

"UCHIHA MADARA"

* * *

**VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE RAIN**

* * *

**AKATSUKI HQ**

* * *

A man with red hair (it was the dull kind) and a woman with purple hair. The red-haired one shouted at her; the purple-haired one bumbled around a sextuplet of bodies.

"Konan—be gentle with the bodies—"

"Hai—Nagato—I know…"

"_Yahiko_…"

"_Yahiko…_"

They both said it at the same time. Their words echoed throughout the cavernous open-concept high-rise where they'd established their organization's unofficial headquarters. It was massive. It was very metallic. Elongated pipes trailed throughout.

A whoosh indicated His arrival. He walked in through the terrace. He was cloaked. His hood was up. He was drenched in rain. His cloak had the Uchiha Clan symbol on it. He pulled his hood down. Messy black hair sprawled out atop an orange mask; he wore a spiral on his face. The spirals curved inwards. His mask had one eye hole. His lone-eye was bright red.

"Nagato, have I caught you at a bad time?"

The man named Nagato stared at the masked man. His eyes were electric purple.

"Your Rinnegan won't work on me," the masked man said.

"Wasn't trying it," Nagato responded.

"_Kyuubi,_" the masked man pressed.

Nagato flashed surprise. "Who are you?"

The masked man took a step forward. Konan fell into a battle-stance. The masked man waved her off—_there's nothing to worry about, if I was here to kill you, you would already be dead._

She didn't budge.

The masked man continued forward. He said, "I am Uchiha Madara."

Konan and Nagato didn't react. They both reflected a look that said _so what?_

The man who called himself Madara stopped. "You should remember me, Nagato, I've known you longer than you've known yourself."

Konan said, "Stop talking in riddles, asshole."

Madara chuckled and said, "It was pretty straightforward if you ask me. Perhaps it wasn't meant for you to understand."

Konan shut up. Nagato poured his intent into the atmosphere, it was met with Madara's. They were at an even level because Madara allowed it.

"What do you want?" Nagato asked.

Madara smiled behind his mask and said, "Now we're asking the right questions. Good, Nagato, _good_." Nagato grit his teeth and shot him a pissed off look. "Now, now, control your rage. It'll come in handy for you later. As for why I what I want, well, I did just say it…_Kyuubi_—well, that may be a bit vague. I have a goal similar to yours, except my way will work. You think you could go around, start collecting Bijū, and nobody would notice? _I_ noticed, Nagato."

Nagato had had enough. He _pushed—SHINRA TENSEI—_it didn't work. Nothing happened. Madara remained unmoved. He cocked his head to his side and stared with his one-eye into Nagato's. The look unnerved Nagato.

"Surprised? No, I'm not a ghost. I am merely not as I once was. I am a fraction of my former self. Do not think just because I've told you this you may have a chance to overpower me. I am still much above your level of being. I'm much more a God than you will ever be, Uzumaki Nagato."

Konan was freaked. This guy kept calling himself Madara and he knew things nobody should know. He knew Nagato's real name. He knew about his Rinnegan. He knew about Nagato's Rinnegan's abilities too. It was like he could read their minds. It was either that or he truly was God, and she feared that it was the latter.

"Relax yourselves now," said Madara. "Let me share, with you—the Akatsuki—my goal: The Infinite Tsukuyomi…"

Nagato and Konan stared dead-eyed towards Madara. He took it as a sign that he should continue. So he did:

"Nagato, you, more than anyone, understand pain. True pain. You understand what is true and what is real. You have learned about this world and it's unbreakable cycle of hatred. The night you lost your parents you committed your first revenge. When Yahiko was murdered you revenged for the second time.

"Don't you want this cycle to end? Because I do. And I know how to do it.

"Nagato, you've seen your land become beaten and old. You've seen your friends die before your very eyes. You know death like it was your best friend. All you desire is…peace. So do I. This shinobi world of ours is too engrossed in search, destroy, and capture. This shinobi world of ours is never willing to stop. Live and let live is not something they will ever understand. You know this more than I even. It is the basis of your organization. If Yahiko had not died, we may not even be here today. It is destiny manifested. I was meant to come here and see you on this day. Imagine you hand't crippled yourself because of revenge. You can't. Because you know what needs to be done and you acknowledge the fact that nobody will ever do what needs to be done. _That_ is what makes us _Ninja_."

Nagato said, "You still haven't told me what you want from _me_?"

Madara replied, "You never asked in specific."

Nagato said, "I just did."

Madara smiled. He recalled the memory of Nagato years ago. That scared little boy, whimpering for his mommy and his daddy and they were dead. And _he_ was the one who killed them. And then he extended a hand of sympathy towards the little boy; a hand that was drenched in blood. He recalled that Nagato never took it. He ran away. Madara chuckled.

"Like I said, I am but a shell of my former self. I'm here to forge an alliance. I think the both of us can benefit from this."

Nagato looked at Konan. She was still _scaaarrred_. Nagato knew it—_no choice_. But he wasn't gonna make it fair. Nagato had a bad feeling about the masked man.

Konan yelled, "You know nothing of our plan!"

Madara chuckled. Nagato seethed at his amusement.

"Do not take us lightly. You may be strong but do not underestimate us. You will regret it."

Madara went silent.

"You—whoever _you_ are—_you _are not Madara Uchiha. But _your_ goals align with us. The Akatsuki will help you. Only because it brings _me_ closer to _my _goal. The peace will belong to us, but the leadership to I, and I alone. You want to contest it? Let's go right now"

Nagato's Rinnegan flashed. Madara waved his hand _no_. Nagato was surprised not-Madara didn't deny his claim. It made him even surer the man was untrustworthy. He was on guard. There was a stranger amongst them now.

He said, "That won't be necessary."

Nagato said, "Good."

The man who couldn't be Madara said, "And so an alliance begins."

Nagato said, "_Mission: Infinite Tsykuyomi begins!_"

Nagato was already plotting a plan in his head.

_How to kill not-Madara Uchiha._

Madara knew his thoughts well. But this was indeed destiny manifested. He wouldn't allow the silly boy who cried even in the rain to ruin his plans. Infinite Tsukuyomi was in motion—it had been since the day Uzumaki Naruto was born—_No_—even before that.

Madara said, "I will be back._ Get the Kyuubi._ Don't mess it up this time."

Nagato asked, "And you?"

Madara smiled behind the mask and said, "I'm a chronological kinda guy. I heard you got the 1-Tail? I'm going out for the 2-Tails."

Nagato was silent. His Rinnegan still flashed electric-purple.

"_Ja-ne!_"

Madara disappeared. A whoosh indicated His departure.

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. Not a huge chapter, nothing too exciting, but it's setting the stage for the story. It is important to me to differ from the CANON. Nagato does not yet know Madara. Nagato has his own reasons for wanting the Tailed Beasts and Madara has his own. Nagato does not like Madara. There will be tension. Nagato will try to find out more about him. Nagato will try to kill him. He does not trust Madara. **

**Next chapter: "The Princess & The Fox"**

**Hope y'all enjoyed! **

**Drop a review and let me know what you think: What happens next on, "Naruto, an Epic"**

**Stay tuned...**


	13. All That is Seen

CHAPTER TWELVE:

* * *

"ALL THAT IS SEEN"

* * *

It's 1 a.m. and someone's up to no good.

* * *

Naruto slipped out of his bed painfully slowly, so as not to alert _Sakura-chan_. He needed to see Hinata. He had to. He didn't know why. It was just a feeling. In fact, it was the strongest thing he'd ever felt in his entire life. That's how he knew he couldn't ignore it.

Naruto _tiptoe_ snuck out of his hospital room. Sakura's snores echoed through the walls. _Kami, Sakura-chan._

Naruto was mummified neck-to-ankle and wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown. He wore two so that passersby couldn't see his ass crack. He no longer tip-toed. He blitzed through the hallways at lightning-speed. He figured Hinata would most likely be in the Konoha General Mortuary. It was at the bottommost level. Naruto was next to top-level. He had a long way down. And of course the elevators were being serviced in the middle of the night. _Stairs it is. _He was an old-fashioned kinda guy anyways.

* * *

Mortuary proper. It smelled. It reeked. It had the stench of alcohol mixed with decay. It was dead-as-a-corpse dead in the mortuary. Naruto sleuthed through. He passed an abandoned front desk. He slithered passed countless cabinets and drawers; some of them were empty, some were occupied by bodies of dead-strangers.

He searched for Hinata like a dope-fiend searches for his fix. There was just something about her and the circumstances of her death. Her confession rocked his world hard. Her confession turned his world upside-down. Her confession owned him. It made him beholden to her. Nobody loves Uzumaki Naruto.

His robe caught on a drawer-handle. _TWIST! SNAP! _It opened before he could recover his robe from the handle. An animal-carcass rolled out on a slab. It didn't reek. It was preserved. It smelled like it too. It smelled the way canned oxygen smells. It was a tanuki-dog. Naruto stared at. He felt surprise, then came the horror, then the calm, and then intrigue riddled him to his very core; he was so riddled his bones shook. _I'm fuckin' shook, as in—_

"Naruto?!"

_Ino?!_

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

_I don't have a good enough answer._

"Naruto?! I'm talking to _YOU!_"

Naruto looked back at the slab. It was empty; he felt empty. Was it always empty? Was he always empty? He could've sworn the dog was there. Well, the dog be damned. Was he hallucinating? He looked back at Ino. His face was a giant question-mark. Her face was an even bigger exclamation-mark.

Naruto muttered, "Hinata."

No lies. No bullshit. Just tell her why you're here. There's no reason to hide.

Ino flashed surprise. The exclamation-mark on her face blinked like searchlights on a lighthouse. She was his beacon to reality. He row-row-rowed his boat fast as lightning and ran inside the lighthouse. He locked the door and threw away the key—

"Why, Naruto-_kun_?"

Naruto said, "Because she loved me."

Ino bit her lip. She said, "That's not good enough. That's a child's excuse."

Naruto grit his teeth. He said, "Who are you to tell me what is and isn't _good enough_. She was good enough. She thought I was good enough. A child's excuse, huh? Sure. I'm a child, _in that_ I've never felt love. I've never been loved. Not by no-one. Not a soul loves Uzumaki Naruto."

A beat. A few more. Then, this. "What good will seeing her corpse bring? Let the dead stay dead." _Don't try to keep the dead alive; you'll find their ghosts in your bed._

Naruto was _mum_. He didn't speak, didn't so much as _squeak_. He rocked on his feet. He was cold. The morgue was freezing. It was all just cold and metal.

"What are you doing here, Ino?"

Ino had a look on her face. _Who are you to ask me?_

"I'm the lead investigator on the case."

"_The case?_"

Ino nodded.

Naruto asked, "Why is there a full-blown investigation into this?"

Ino shook her head. She said, "Because Hinata _Hyuuga_ was just abducted from her _secure _Clan compound in broad daylight. That's _why_."

Naruto's face was still a question-mark.

Ino sighed. "Naruto-_kun_—just leave things well enough alone." She knew he wouldn't. "Don't make this about _you_."

Naruto embodied rage. The question-mark on his face dissipated into nothing. He seethed at Ino. "How _fucking_ dare you?! None of this would have ever fucking happened if it weren't for _me_. It's always _me_. _Me. Me. ME!_"

"What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"Oh please—don't be coy, Ino. If you're lead then you know case-details. What was painted on Hinata's walls _in blood?_"

Ino didn't deny it. She'd read it. She _knew_. Naruto was a Jinchūriki. No denying it. No hiding it. Ino didn't care either way. She still_ lov_—

"They might as well have written my fuckin' name _in blood_. Hinata is dead because of the _stupid fox_ in my belly. I couldn't save her, the one person in the whole entire world that managed to love someone like me. A Jinchūriki. That's all people like me will ever be known as. Just a fucking _vessel!_"

_Don't be silly, Naruto-kun. I'll always lov—_

"So what will seeing her now, dead and on a slab, in a mortuary do for you? Will it bring you peace? 'Cause I'll pop open the cab and roll her out on a red-carpet if that's all it takes."

Another beat.

Ino pressed. "Well. _WELL?_"

Naruto's face became an even bigger question-mark. He didn't have an answer.

"_WELL? WEEEELLLLLL?_"

Naruto felt woozy. His head spun. He felt uneasiness crawl up his throat. He was gonna throw up. It was the sterile stench of preservation.

"_WEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL?!_"

Naruto spun on his heels and _blitzed_ out of the room. All she saw was a yellow flash.

* * *

Konoha General Hospital.

7:37 a.m.

Naruto awoke with a pounding migraine. He slammed three full pitchers of water and two acetaminophen. Sakura was right there beside him. Sakura was worried. She looked _streeeeessed_. Naruto recalled his night. He remembered the stench. He felt like throwing up again. He knocked his brain and changed his thoughts. It was a difficult process.

Ino was right. What good would seeing a dead Hinata do? None. He determined a new resolve in that moment. He needed to see Tsunade. He swung his legs off his bed. His feet touched cold-tiles. He shivered, inside and out. Sakura tried to stop him. He held her off easily.

"Naruto—don't! You're not to be discharged until the evening. Rest, for Kami's sake, Naruto!"

Naruto stood upright and stretched his legs. His head spun. Blood rushed to his brain. He normalized. He said, "Is Tsuna doing her rounds in the hospital today?"

Sakura kept on with her _don'ts and please's_.

Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders and asked her again. "Sakura-chan—is Tsuna-chan doing her rounds in the hospital? I need to see her. It's important Sakura-chan."

Sakura calmed. She felt dumb for freaking out. He was perfectly okay-looking. Aside from the headache, Naruto was in perfect condition to be discharged. She ran a hand through her hair and calmed even more.

"Tsunade-sama isn't coming in today. She's at the Hokage Tower—"

Naruto _blitzed_. All she saw was the blue in his eyes. It was electric.

* * *

Hokage Tower.

7:57 a.m.

Naruto blitzed through the large double-doors to the Hokage Tower. He clipped the steps five at a time. He was in a rush. He ran as if there was a timer on his actions. He reached the topmost floor in seconds. He wasn't even panting. He hadn't even broken a sweat. He still reeked of desperation. He didn't think anyone could see it.

Naruto saw Shizune. Shizune saw Naruto. She saw the _look_ in his eyes. He passed her before she could even open her mouth to speak.

Naruto burst through the office door. He entered the Hokage's Office proper now. He saw Tsunade. He saw Shikamaru. They were having an important meeting. Tsunade was surprised to see Naruto. Shikamaru swung his head around and was a non-reactor.

Naruto stared intently at Tsunade. He said, "I wanna be on the investigation into Hinata's death!"

Tsunade still showed surprise. All she saw was a mini-Jiraiya with blonde-hair.

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: Small update. "The Princess & The Fox" coming next. This update was supposed to be that chapter but I changed my mind. Apologies for the late update. I value my readership and the time you all take out to read my story. I hope you're all enjoying. I try to write whenever I've got the free time to. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!**

**Drop a review. Let me know what you think. I'm planning on depicted a full-fledged investigation into Hinata's homicide. So for all you wondering why Pain kidnapped Hinata-yes, there's a reason. It will be revealed as the chapters follow.**

**So stay tuned...**


	14. Setting the Pieces on the Board

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

* * *

"SETTING THE PIECES ON THE BOARD"

* * *

Tsunade gave him a _look_. It meant _how dare you intrude_. Naruto stood his ground. Naruto's still in his hospital gown. He looks like a fool. Scratch that, with those bandages he looked like a mummified fool. But he resolved to be on the investigation and he would have his way. Tsunade was in no mood; he was in a resolute one. Shikamaru observed the scene unfold before his very eyes—a 16 year old _woo-woos_ the Hokage, _aka_ the strongest shinobi of the village. _Riiiiight_. _As if that's gonna hap_—

"No."

_Told you so._

Naruto said, "Really?"

Tsunade gave him a separate look.

Naruto's _q.t_.

"Yes—_really_. Now get out."

* * *

Naruto kicked at nothing as he strolled through the streets. He skipped the hospital, in all hopes to avoid Sakura. He was in no mood to be berated. He was in no mood to be beaten on. He was in a beating-_giving_ kinda mood. He's got nothing but Hinata on his mind. He thought he could depend on Tsunade. The old lady gave him the boot, literally. When he refused to _get out_, she finger-flicked his ass five-miles past Kakashi's Thousand Years of Death.

Naruto ruminated. He pondered. He kept imagining Hinata's death-face in his mind's eye, crystal-clear, so as not to forget that moment. It boosted his will. It demoralized him all the same. He felt rut. His infamy got the only woman who ever loved him killed. And he never even had a chance at a first-kiss. _Don't think like that, Naru._ He bashed himself internally. _Bad Naru, Bad!_

He trailed on. He was heading nowhere. Hinata had already arrived there. As in, The Big Nowhere. That little, big place called death. Naruto imagined surrendering to The Akatsuki and ending it all in one fell swoop. Good riddance to himself. He wouldn't have to live another waking moment imagining dead lovers and could-be families. He was only 15-and-change and he was already a haunted man.

"_OYE! NARUTO!_"

Naruto whipped his head around. He saw the sign for _Ichiraku's_. He didn't realize how far he'd walked. His feet brought him here against his will. He didn't try to be _here_. But then where was _there?_

Ayame peeked through the short curtain-flaps of the stall-style restaurant. She smiled bright and wide. She's beautiful. Look at how much she's grown. She still doesn't know what this world is—not yet. Naruto managed a weak smile in return. He didn't stop. He didn't enter the shop. He continued on. Again. He's got nowhere on his mind. He won't stop 'till he's found it. He won't stop 'till he's done thinking about Hinata-fucking-Hyūga.

Ayame's shouts became fainter and fainter. They were whispers and then echoes of those whispers. She never left the border of her stall. He never stopped to look at her twice.

Naruto drifted off. He decided to give a damn later when he was over all of this. He didn't think he ever would be. Still, it was something to hold onto.

It's been two-and-a-half years—_fuck it! _let's say three—and this reunion's a shit-show. Naruto's in his feelings, Ayame. Kami, take a hint, wouldya?

Naruto embodied thought. He pondered. _Why is it always the people I care about?_

* * *

Tsunade huffed. She was exhausted. The Hyūga heiress had just been KIA, which meant politics—and there was also the fact that the village had just lost one of its finest shinobi.

Tsunade slid her desk-drawer open and retrieved a manila folder from within. She scanned the contents. There—She noted the details.

Note the full chemical workup. Note the extensive autopsy report. Note the preservation of bodily fluids and organs. Note the _eyes_. Note the FME Report: "The subject died due to blood-loss and shock. There is a stab-wound three centimetres from her left breast that struck her heart; it is determined to be the killing blow."

Shikamaru's a non-reactor. He's waiting. He's biding. He's building himself up. _What do I have to say about anything?_

Shikamaru felt like a failure for the second time in his life. The first was with Sasuke. And now Hinata. _How many more?_

Shikamaru tap-tap-tapped his feet on the floor. His thoughts roved a million miles a second. His leg shook unconsciously. They made a noise. He imagined a whole conversation where he said all the right things; then he imagined his life without failures. _If only, huh?_

Tsunade cleared her throat. "The Akatsuki, as per our intelligence, are a group of rogue-nin banding together for a singular goal: to capture every single tailed beast. _Wtf _could they possibly want with the Hyūga Heiress?"

Shikamaru raised his hand.

Tsunade said, "Speak."

Shikamaru said, "Might I proffer—The Byakugan? Could it be that simple?"

Tsunade shook her head. "What use would a Byakugan be to a man with the Rinnegan. It is said to be a myth and he has it. Why risk exposure and cause chaos? Just for?"

"Lady Tsunade, they are terrorists. This is a flex, clearly. They're showing off. They can access our village if they wish. This is a clear indicator that they took Hinata for a reason. And I can think of nothing other than The Byakugan. I believe they had two intentions coming here. One—Hinata. Two—Naruto. They used the former to get to the latter. Although, they probably didn't expect the outcome the way it went down. I mean, none of us did."

Tsunade ruminated. This whole ordeal was a clusterfuck. Naruto was the village's secret weapon. He was their sole Jinchūriki. Hinata Hyūga was the Hyūga heiress and princess. They were knee-deep in shit with the Shinobi and Civilian Councils. She had no option but to initiate an investigation. What was she supposed to say?

_IDK?_

Nobody would've accepted that. They would've overthrown her leadership in an instant. Danzo was already having a blast picking at her missing-nin policies. This was just another nail in her coffin. She could hear the faint ticking of time in the back of her mind. Konoha was changing; and it was being changed.

That's it. She made a decision. She didn't think twice. She reprimanded doubt before it got to her like all the other times. She placed a _bet_. She hoped it would work out in her favour.

"I've decided; you will investigate this matter, sub-rosa. No ifs. No buts. And not a peep. Just get it done. You are to uncover whether there was a plot behind the murder of Hinata Hyūga, and if so, what was the motive; and you will cater to the Hyūga Clan and their each and every needs for the duration of this investigation. I don't want a single complaint from the Hyūga or the Civilian Council _ORRRRR _the Shinobi Council. Understood? Good. Get out, and write me up a summary in two days time. I want a clean solve on this shit."

* * *

Naruto _slaaaamed! _his apartment door shut and fell into his double-bed. He was still in his hospital gown. He realized he must have looked a fool to Tsunade. He face-palmed and rolled over on his side. He peered outside his window. He saw 12-year old Naruto parkour-ing rooftop-to-rooftop. He felt so cool then.

Look at me now.

Naruto rolled over and stared at his ceiling. He imagined it came crashing down on top of him. Imagine that. But why am I doing that? What's with all the dread? Why is everything somber? Set the mood you fuckin' doof.

Naruto sat up. He swung his legs off his bed. They touched the cold, linoleum flooring. He flinched in reminiscence. He remembered when his feet couldn't touch the ground. He got up and changed out of his hospital gown.

He wore a tee and loose sweatpants. He shoved his ninja headband into the pocket of the sweatpants. He didn't feel like wearing it. The headband signified his status as a ninja. The headband, for him, also evinced pride. He didn't feel proud of himself or of being a ninja quite then.

He paced his tiny apartment one billion times. He thought. He pondered. What's left to think about?

Hinata was on his mind. Next to that's Sakura-chan. She's a true friend. She gives a shit. His mind switched to Ino Yamanaka. He barely knew her. She eluded his analytic capability. As it seemed, she was a marvellous ninja. As it seemed, she's a strong fucking woman in this man's world. He thought about Ayame. He felt regret. He should've stopped and reunited. It's been nearly three years. Way to value your relationships, Uzumaki.

Was this _it?_ That thing Jiraiya-sensei always told him about. This age. This time. The storm within. Hormones, he called them. A clusterfuck was what Naruto would label it. Women plagued him. He longed for love. He felt rage like no other. One thing was for certain, being Hokage was nowhere on his mind right now.

* * *

It's nearly 6 in the p.m. and Naruto's been jerking around doing nothing. He's been in bed and off his bed and pacing his cold, linoleum floors for hours, without food, without a sip of water. He's going _maaaaad. _

It's a slow process.

He gripped his ninja headband tight in his pocket as he paced. He tried to evoke some superpower out of the object, to no avail. Uzumaki Naruto is no magician. He's just a 15-year old dumbfuck kid who's got his dick twisted up and his feelings in a blender. What is it you want, kid?

_I wanna save Hinata._

Too late dipshit.

_I want to know…why her?_

Well then, better get to it.

_Huh?_

Something shuffled beneath Naruto's apartment door. It snapped him out of his thoughts. He focused. It was a piece of paper. Torn. Ripped out of its original container. Probably part of a journal. Naruto pocketed it. He fingertip-touched his door. He shut-eye focused. He allowed nature to become one with him. He searched for any sign of danger. None. He focused for his delvery-man—

_Woahhh_…

It's no delivery-man. It's a delivery-_girl_.

Hyūga Hanabi. Second-in-line for the throne. What brings you to this dump? Why are you delivering paper-mail to yours truly? _I'll have to catch you around, Hanabi._

Naruto pulled the paper out of his pocket. The header said _ENTRY 912_. Clearly, it's a diary entry. He read the first line. He stopped. He wondered why in the hell Hanabi was delivering him a love letter. He wondered why the hell Hanabi was in love with him? _You're too young, kid. Admiration is acceptable but I'm going through a bout of heartbreak right now._

He read further. He realized his idiocy in assumption.

Hanabi's not the author.

Hinata is.

* * *

Naruto fast-read/then slow-read/every small, tiny little detail. He memorized the goddamn page in his head. He cherished the words in it. He's falling for Hinata _haaard_. She loved him in a pure way. Purer than the way he thought he loved Sakura-chan. That was kiddie-shit compared to this. Hinata absolutely, without a doubt, no-bs, love-love-_looooved! _him.

Naruto pocketed the page. He retrieved his headband and tied it around his right arm. He resolved. The investigation. He wanted in. Tsunade said "fuck off." He said _fuck you_. He'll have his way. He doesn't give two-shits. He'll fly solo.

Naruto exited his apartment with haste. He was off to search for Hanabi. He didn't have to use Sage Mode. He didn't even have to sense chakra signals.

He knew where she lived.

He blitzed off in a yellow flash.

He landed outside the gates to the Hyūga Clan Compound in minutes. Reminiscence hit him again. He remembered that day. Never-mind that. The sun's setting. Get on with business.

He didn't want to intrude uninvited. Then again, he figured the Hyūga weren't gonna be keen on letting him into their private homes.

He found a corner-spot and hopped the wall. He chose a spot near Hinata's bedroom. He remembered the layout of the compound from his singular visit. He waited. He watched. Nobody was outside. Everyone was prepping for bedtime or _play_time, if you know what I'm saying. He still waited.

Hanabi must be nearby. It's her house, ain't it? He figured her room must be neighbouring Hinata's.

Naruto body-flickered a few feet down. He landed feet-first on the side of the exterior wall. He sent out a faint pulse of chakra. It was like a sonic ultra wave. Any reactor would strike visually in echolocation-like ripples. He felt multiple presences. None nearby. He slid the window open. No locks. Ninja and samurai never locked their homes. The design's had to be kept simple for community's sake. They played wonders with their architecture in order to compensate for their lack of security and to combat intruders.

Naruto spider-crawled in. He went straight to the ceiling. He expelled held breath and peered below. Somebody had wiped the writing on the walls clean. He was relieved. He hung off the ceiling. His fingertips held on. He surveilled the room. The contents first.

Her room was swept clean with a fine-tooth comb. All evidence was wiped. Any sign of a living, breathing, soul was vanished. Disappeared. They disseminated her existence. _Kami, she hasn't even been gone for a minute._

Her bed evinced her personality amiably. It was the second last standing remnant, representative of Hyūga Hinata's existence. Naruto was the first. So long as he was alive to remember her, she could never die. He would live to remember the woman who was able to love a man like him. That concept elicited yearn-fulness in him.

(**_Long for nostalgia, boy. Chase it. You will never have it…that shouldn't stop you from chasing it_**)

His fingertips unglued from the ceiling and he landed swiftly atop her bed. He laid in her sheets and smelled her fragrance. He inhaled the scent of her. He remembered ever molecule of perfume- and shampoo-trace. Lilac and cherries and vanilla. She was sweet like mooncake—_Mmh_.

"Do I wanna know what you're doing in my dead-sister's bed?"

Naruto flipped to his feet. She startled him. He was caught off guard. It was rare. He was too invested in remembering Hinata. The Real World faded into the background. His hand was on his kunai holster, ready to draw. He didn't.

Hanabi leaned on the doorframe. She's arms-crossed, eyes-glaring, boring-a-hole-into-Naru's-skull.

Naruto said, "You don't seem surprised to see me."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "I would see you coming two villages over."

Naruto relaxed. He sat on the bed legs-crossed. "Byakugan?"

She said, "Byakugan."

Naruto unconsciously ran his hands over the sheets. "Why did you give me that paper?"

Hanabi unfolded her arms. "What's it to you. Shouldn't you be happy you had a _fan?_"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Is that all she means to you? Because that's not what I thought when I read that paper."

Hanabi about-faced and trailed the room, borderline. "How would you know what she meant to me. How _could _you. How _could_ you ever know what _you_ meant to _her_."

Naruto said, "I'm beginning to."

Hanabi scoffed. "Not in the slightest."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Well, then, why the hell did you come to me in the first place? Why didn't you just leave things well enough al—"

"Because, onēsan told me to."

_What?_

Naruto slid off the bed. He's intrigued. Hanabi stood near the window. He slow-approached. He's apprehensive. But he wants to know more. Why the fuck did Hinata tell her to deliver him a love-letter. And when did she tell her?

Naruto said, "Why?"

Hanabi shoulder-shrugged. "How the fuck am I supposed to know."

Naruto cock-eyed her. She glared back.

She said, "Don't. Just _don't_. I wasn't even planning on giving you the damn page. Why should I play cupid? Then onēsan went and died. She didn't even tell me. It was like she knew what was coming."

Naruto's eyebrows shot _up-up-up_, all the way to his hairline-_up_. "Wait—what do you mean, 'She knew what was coming?'"

Hanabi shoulder-shrugged. "I don't know what I mean. I don't know what anything means."

"Hanabi, please…"

"Leave, Uzumaki Naruto. And let my sister rest in peace."

"Hanabi, are there more entries? Please—"

"_Leave_."

_You came to me, Hanabi. You gave me that letter. You stirred this shit up. This storm within. It's not stopping. It's getting worse. Hanabi, I need to know._

"_Please…_"

Hanabi's on the q.t.

Naruto said, "I know there's more. This page is torn. There must be a diary. _Please. Hanabi…please…_"

Hanabi exited the room. She tried to emulate emotionlessness. She failed. It was apparent she was grieving. The loss of her sister struck a chord unknown to her young soul. It struck a different chord in Naruto. They were strings on the same instrument.

The door slid _SHUT!_

Naruto stood by the open window. He felt the evening breeze wash over his face. It soothed. He was a sweaty mess. He calmed. He breathed. Inhale. Exhale. _There_.

He tuned into nature's essence. He became one with it. He breathed in the bed-linen fragrance from all the way _here_. Fragmentations of her life bound all round the room's surroundings. He felt her presence there with him. She was dead in a cab inside the Konoha General Mortuary. Still. He felt her presence there with him. He shed a tear.

He reached inside his pocket and gripped Hinata's diary-entry tight.

"I wish I got to know you, Hinata-chan."

He said it aloud, to nobody but himself.

He heard his fantasization of her whisper in his head. _You still can_.

* * *

ELSEWHERE…

* * *

Sasuke awoke from another nightmare. It was the same one. It was always Itachi. It was always Naruto. It was always the people he cared about the most, antagonized towards him in the worst possible way. It was only just, considering he had opposed them all.

His eyes were blurry.

He blinked his eyes clear.

He swung his legs off his cot and stood upright. He slept in his clothes. He was barefoot. His ankles were wrapped in bandages—overtraining. He wore a samurai-skirt over ninja-pants. He'd fashioned a belt out of dense, triple-braided rope. His shirt hung round his waist. His curse mark visibly pulsated.

His eyes were shallow. They looked worn. They looked old. His hair was longer. He tied it in a ponytail. A few strands escaped. He slipped his shirt back on.

He walked outside his room. Orochimaru's maze awaited him. These fucking hallways. He'd spent two-and-a-half years moving from base-to-base and his sharingan had failed to understand the structure's architectural pattern.

After endless searching, Sasuke punched through the ceiling and exited the building.

Someone awaited his arrival. Sasuke strained with blurry-eyes. He made out a faint figure. It was a ghost. It was Naruto's ghost. He's 12-years old and has got a hole in his chest. Sasuke made that hole. Sasuke gripped his chest tight. He _gulped_. He walked closer. He blinked.

Naruto disappeared.

All it took was one fucking _blink_.

Sasuke scoured. He couldn't find him. His eyes pulsated and ached. He gripped them tight and fell to his knees. When he opened them Itachi towered above him. He disappeared in two blinks. He couldn't tell if he was hallucinating or if he was still dreaming.

He sat there, on his knees, for a while. He remembered killing Naruto. It felt like a bad dream. That moment had come true. He had imagined it. He hadn't committed to it. And then it happened. Just like that. He would never forget. _These_ eyes are cursed. They're the signifier of a great sacrifice. RIP Naruto. You were a good friend. Always.

Naruto appeared before his eyes. He smiled through bloodied teeth. Sasuke smiled back. _You are missed, my dear friend._

Three blinks and he's gone.

Sasuke opened his eyes and found himself back in his room, awaking from another nightmare. The cycle was endless. His eyes played tricks on him. His guilt did too.

He pinched himself—_yep, this is real. _But don't forget, the sharingan can be extremely convincing. He shook his head and swung himself off his cot. Repeat the day. Go through the motions. Clear your sight. Clear your mind. Wash away guilt. Redress.

* * *

Sasuke sat at the edge of the base's roof. Orochimaru had built hundreds of these all across the shinobi nations. There was no way to keep track of all of them. He was sure no nation held a spymaster capable of keeping tabs on this elusive man-serpent.

Speaking of—

The place was teeming with reptiles. Everywhere you looked you'd find a lizard or a snake slithering in contrivance. You could never tell whether they were friendlies. His father had always told him, "You can't trust a snake, Sasuke." He understood the metaphor ten years too late.

A small part of him regretted his choice in this lifetime. What if he stayed in Konoha? What if he hadn't murdered his best friend in cold blood? What if he forgot about revenge and actually had a fucking life?

_Too late for all that_.

That's what he told himself to dispel doubt. It never really worked.

A hawk circled the air above him. He beckoned it lower. He leaned his arm out. It flew to a breaching stop. It stooped atop his hand. He tickled its claws with his fingertips. The creature trilled quietly. It rested its bald head against his raven hair and nuzzled affectionately.

Sasuke loved birds. He often wished he could fly. He imagined if he could. He would outrun this place and go back to Konoha and make a fucking life. And he would make sure the whole world remembered Uzumaki Naruto.

The hawk flap-flapped and flew off, high into the sky, exactly where it belonged.

Sasuke rubbed his curse-mark absently.

Something caught his eyes in the woods down below—_What's that?_

It looked vaguely like a sketch from a shinobi textbook he read back when he was in the Academy. The sketch detailed the rumoured characteristics of the Nibi—the two-tailed Monster Cat.

The Something was not the Nibi. It was indeed tiger-like. But it had only one-tail. Sasuke counted.

The Something was a vibrant, ocean-blue. Ink-black streaked through its fur. It had pale eyes and no pupils, kind of like the Hyūga Clan's famed Byakugan.

It snarled at him and rubbed its snout with its blue paws.

_Do you wanna play?_

The beast snarled and leapt around, crushing whole bushes and snapping branches with its immense weight.

Sasuke tipped off the roof and sailed to the ground smoothly. He landed featherlike and body-flickered over to the edge of the woods.

The Something stopped doing what it was doing. The Something stared at Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at The Something.

The Something approached Sasuke slowly. Sasuke noticed it had something in its mouth. Some object. It was some kind of book. The Something stopped a mere foot from Sasuke. It held it's face forward—_Here, take this_.

Sasuke looked confusedly at it. He apprehensively reached his hand out. The Something inched its face closer. Sasuke grabbed the book. The Something let go. Sasuke pulled his hand back. He examined the book.

It was a diary.

He opened the first page. It said, _This book is the property of Hyūga Hinata_.

Sasuke dumbfounded-stared at the header. He scratched his head. He looked at The Something. He looked at the book. Back at The Something. Back to the book. Back at the—

The Something poofed into thin air.

_A summoning?_

Sasuke wondered why this beast had come to visit him. _Is this all another dream after all?_

Sasuke pondered why Hyūga Hinata's diary was delivered to him. Of all people, why him? _I don't even know you_.

Sasuke flipped to the next page. It said this:

_Let me preface this. This is the beginning. Fate has beckoned me in a curious manner. Uchiha Sasuke—the very moment this book touches your hands, revolution will begin._

Sasuke shut the book with a loud _snap!_

He pinched himself again just to check if it truly was another dream.

He opened his eyes and found he still stood at the edge of the forest, he still held Hyūga Hinata's diary in his hands. He reread the part about how a revolution was supposed to start the moment he touched this book.

He waited for it. It never came.

He waited a little longer.

He pocketed the book and trekked back to the man-serpent's hideout.

Orochimaru awaited him. He said, "_Ssssasuke-kun_…"

He reached inside his pocket and gripped the diary tight, awaiting revolution's beginnings.

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, it's been a while. I wonder if anybody still reads this. I've been extremely busy working on other things but I wrote this whenever I got the chance to. Chapter, "Princess & The Fox" is sidelined for now. I've got a new plan for this story. I hope you all enjoy. And again, sorry for the long wait.**

**Please enjoy & review :)**


	15. Hinata Hyuga's Diary (entry 01)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

* * *

"HINATA HYUUGA'S DIARY"

* * *

(_ENTRY 01_)

* * *

~_It has begun~_

* * *

I am beginning this diary based on my own whim and fate's whisperings.

Fate has indeed beckoned me. At first I didn't understand it. Now, I'm beginning to.

**私は覚えています**

I remember.

911 days from today, Naruto-kun will return from his journey.

911 days from today…I will die.

I saw it in a dream. It is that whisper of fate that beckoned me to begin this diary. Other whispers entailed the Grand Plan. I _must_ die in order for revolution to occur. I am not deluded—say it to remind _your_self; say it to convince _your_self.

I've been dreaming a lot. I dream about things that haven't happened yet; it isn't always dreams, sometimes it's daydreams, sometimes it's conscious hallucinations.

_I see a man with long hair and horns on his head. He looks like the devil. He feels like an angel. His eyes are like ripples in an ocean. _

_I see another man with long hair and horns on his head. He looks like the devil's brother. He feels like nothing. His eyes are like mine. Pale. Empty. But they see everything._

_Sometimes I see a man with blood in his eyes. He scares me. _

_I see myself dying at the hands of a man with those same ocean-ripple eyes._

_I see so much death. I see even more life. _

_I see a lot of things. _

_I see beasts with many tails. _

_I see reunions and departures. _

_I see all aspects of everything._

_It is as if I am God_.

It's an odd feeling, seeing the future, seeing the way things unfold or might unfold. You see, the future is not written in bold. It's changeable. I read it in a book somewhere that a butterfly flapping its wings could cause a tsunami completely elsewhere. It's referred to as _chaos theory_. It's also referred to as the _butterfly effect_. Our actions in the present have a significant impact on our futures.

The thing with _time _is that it's relative. And it's nothing like what we complicate it to be. It's a flat circle. There is no distribution of subjection. There is no past, present, and future. If one was to never sleep, there would be no distinction between days were it not for the downing and rising of the sun.

The thing with _time_ is that it isn't only what we do in the present that impacts our futures. Our futures impact our present, and our pasts. The possible/changeable futures evoke new meaning in our past. Things that I never thought twice about are now the only things I ever think about. And as for the present—as in today—I must do a certain thing to ensure that _change_ occurs.

I am the butterfly and I must flap my wings.

I used to think that Naruto-kun was the butterfly. Every action he took created a reaction in the world surrounding him. Even _me_. My reaction was love. That love still exists. It grows stronger each and every day. It never fades.

Perhaps we are all butterflies. Each and every action we take results in either equal or opposite reactions all around us. That is why this is all so calculated. The mathematics of time must be shuriken-sharp. Not a single error can occur, otherwise, if we continue the metaphor, the tsunami will swallow us all whole.

I can see the future like it was my past. _Remember…_

I am scared but I am spellbound. I can't escape the taste of _seeing_.

I am afraid to die. But as long as I write this diary, I can never die. I will remain trapped in it post-911-days, but I will remain alive. I will be immortal. And I hope that someone else will write on the remaining pages and speak to the memory of me. I hope that the day I die, someone will remember me.

I hope Naruto-kun remembers me.

I hope _you_, Sasuke-kun, remember me.

And Sasuke-kun, until the right moment, please, I urge you to not show this book to Naruto-kun—for the sake of the _right_ future.

I will dictate to you the right moment.

I will dictate to you your journey—

I will dictate to you, Naruto-kun's journey, equally.

I will dictate the events to come and the possibilities.

I do not bind you in chains. I urge you with words. This is all a selfish endeavour. I am going to urge you to work towards the future I prefer. It may not favour you. It may only favour Naruto-kun—clearly, love can biased people. I promise nothing. I urge you all the same.

The Grand Plan demands sacrifice. It is a sad fact that to attain anything, one must sacrifice another thing. To finish our work we might sacrifice sleep. To gain power, we may sacrifice our integrity. To gain insight, we must sacrifice our ego.

Sacrifice is _key_.

_You_ must also sacrifice.

Sasuke-kun, your sacrifice is dual-ended. You must spare the life of_ Uchiha Itachi_. And…six years from today, you must_ die_.

You may be thinking I am indeed being biased and selfish. Perhaps I am. But remember these words on the day you face death. The moment you're looking at it right in the eyes, think, remember, and you will understand. You will have a choice. You may choose not to die.

For now, do not fret, Sasuke-kun. Whatever your choice is, you can join me in "memoriam."

912 days. Barely three years. I will die. No matter what, this is the one constant of the future that _never_ changes. I. Must. Die.

1825 days—that's five years from today. Two and a half years after I die. _Revolution_ will be complete.

Five...

Years...

Revolution...

What is revolution, I ask myself…

A thought in the mind…

_Save the world from itself_.

It feels _impossible_; it is _inevitable_.

The _what_ and the _when_ has been answered. The _why_ is a long answer. Shortened, there are too many bad men doing bad things in this world, Sasuke-kun. The world is becoming overrun. It scares me even more than my own death. I see the man behind it all. He wears a mask like time, bastardized—it's all spirals and black holes. He pulls men and women like they were hooked to strings. He will bring about destruction. He will try to own the world. I have seen the future where he _wins_…he kills everything. _Everything_, Sasuke-kun. It scares me. The world in flames. The water is no longer blue but red and tainted with blood. The sky never stops crying. I can't stand that reality.

Sasuke-kun, all that remains is for me to tell you _how_…

So the story begins. I peer into the future—

_Your eyes are like ripples in an ocean. _

_Naruto-kun is far away from you. _

_Your blood is what spurred this version of history. _

_Do not be mistaken, it is not you that brings revolution. You create the saviour who will save the world_—

Be strong, Sasuke-kun. Trust me, Sasuke-kun. There is a lot to face. Many trials await.

1824 days, Sasuke-kun. That's 912 more for you—but then again, what is time but a flat circle. Perhaps, if you focus, you might see it too. You must simply, _open your eyes_. Just like I did. I sound crazy.

I remind myself—_I am not deluded_.

Now, Sasuke-kun, the first thing you must do is kill Orochimaru.

* * *

CHAPTER END.


	16. Uchiha Sasuke

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

* * *

"UCHIHA SASUKE"

* * *

Sasuke snapped the diary _shut!_

"_I urge you to not show this book to Naruto-kun._"

_Wtf is this bullshit?! Your boy's dead, Hyūga Princess. And I killed him._

He sat upon the hideout rooftop. They moved yesterday. The legendary Jiraiya had found the last one. He didn't think it was possible. Orochimaru thought better safe than sorry. In his opinion, they were in no condition to fight. In Sasuke's, _Orochimaru_ was in no condition to fight. He was just fine.

He decided to humour himself and read the first entry of Hinata's diary. He scoffed at his idiocy. He laughed at the girl's lunacy. She thought she could see the future. She spoke of revolutions. She intended to spark something inside him—she was a fool.

She spoke of ocean-eyed men and bloody-eyed men and spirals and time and black holes. She was obsessed with Naruto-_kun_ and completely lacked any sense of self-worth. She was deluded that Naruto was alive. She was _waaaayyy _too obsessed with Naruto. Perhaps even more than himself.

She transformed her traumatic and bullied life into an ability. She thought her eyes could see more than his sharingan. She urged him to open his eyes and see too.

Well, he's looking and he ain't seeing shit—and he's got a _mangekyou_.

She missioned him to kill Orochimaru. _Well, how did you know?_ He was planning on murdering the disabled man-serpent as soon as he had obtained all that he had to provide. _But I'm not doing it just 'cause you told me to._

Sasuke pocketed the diary in the hem of his shirt between his waistband.

He didn't tell Orochimaru he had it. He never told Orochimaru anything. Orochimaru always managed to know everything anyways. He didn't care either way. Even if Orochimaru had the slightest inkling of his plans, he would not be able to stop them.

He couldn't help but wonder about Naruto. _Foolish thoughts. The girl is deluded. So are you. You're just guilty. Feel rut. Feel guilt. You deserve it. You killed your only friend. The only person in the whole world you could truly call brother. _

Sasuke went back into the hideout. He felt like training.

* * *

Sasuke channeled immense amounts of chakra. He embodied focus and clarity. His body radiated lightning. He willed cloudbursts with a single thought. He spent nearly three years mastering his affinities. He spent it equally mastering these new eyes. Now, lightning was _his_. Fire was his bitch. And now he had eyes that could _see_.

He was in one of the many chambers of the hideout. They were tiered. Basic to advanced. Sasuke was beyond advanced. It was cake to him. He battled shadow clones of himself. He never sparred with Orochimaru. He was convinced it was because Orochimaru was afraid of revealing his abilities to him. He wanted Sasuke to be underhanded when he tried to kill him.

Sasuke often sparred with Kabuto. Kabuto was a little bitch. He's a snitch and a weakling. His only prowess lied in medical ninjutsu. And even without the sharingan, Sasuke saw through his every move. He was a telegraphed mess. He wondered how the legendary Slug Princess ever struggled against the likes of him.

Sasuke tore through training-dummies with a chidori. He smiled. It was a rare sight. He was proud of his growth. He was jealous of his own power. He stomped his ego and remembered that he had miles to go before true contentment.

He frayed the entire room with lightning. He wore it around his body like armour and then pushed it outwards. His lightning-cloak expanded. It constricted. He pushed and pulled and manipulated his chakra with ease. He threw fire at training-dummies with his bare hands. He was a master of fire and lightning.

He mastered both his affinities to their core. The very essence of fire was controllable. He could summon it from within and manipulate it, even if it didn't belong to him. His eyes spun madly. His dark pupils pulsated, transformed, and radiated _red, red, red! _A secondary transformation occurred. His regular, old sharingan transformed into a nebulous atom—_Mangekyou Sharingan! _

_Amaterasu—Kagutsuchi!_

Black flames swirled around the room. Sasuke ached all over and he liked it. He allowed the flames to singe his skin just a little. Self-mutilation was a proxy of self-discipline. Sasuke was committed in every possible way. He would embody vengeance and exact his revenge. He would bring his Clan the honour they deserved.

_Yeaaahhh—_He wasn't just jerking around these past few years. He was training. _Haaaard_. He had people to kill. Namely—Orochimaru.

Mainly—_Uchiha Itachi_. The Butcher of the Uchiha Clan.

He was a coward who slew his entire clan in the darkness of night. He was Sasuke's brother. Sasuke loathed him. He embodied Hate. He hated Itachi. He wanted to kill Itachi. Itachi killed everything dear to him. Itachi murdered the innocence in him. He was just a kid. He rewinded time and recalled the moment Itachi chose to let him live. _Why didn't you just kill me then?_

Sasuke would become strong enough, then become stronger, then find Itachi, beat him halfway to death, kill him all the way, bring him back to life, and make him answer all of his questions. And there was only really one.

_Why?_

"_To test my strength._"

Bullshit.

"_To see if I was strong enough._"

Shut-up!

"_To see if you were weak enough_."

_BASTARD!_

Sasuke exploded with fire and lightning. He imagined Itachi's face on one of the dummies. The whole room turned an orange-blue. Every particle was enveloped in his power. He combined everything in his arsenal. A deafening noise rang in the room.

When the colour receded, nothing was left. Everything was vaporized into dust. Smoke lingered. All that remained was Sasuke. His shirt was on fire. It vaporized into the air. His eyes aswirl. The mangekyou faded. He fell to his knees in exhaustion.

Hinata's diary fell from his waistband onto the floor in front of him.

* * *

_You must spare the life of Uchiha Itachi. _

Sasuke reread that line over and over again. He called bullshit. How did she even know about that?

He was sitting in his room on his uncomfortable cot. Comfort was for the aimless. He couldn't care less about comfort. He often slept on the rock-hard concrete flooring.

He pondered still. How could Hinata Hyūga possible know about his plan for vengeance? And even if she knew, why the hell was he supposed to spare the bastard?

None of this made any sense, which is partly what gave credence to the possibility of it being the truth. But it hasn't happened, therefore it is still just a possibility. The truth is laid in stone. The moment he has to decide is the moment the _true_ truth will be transcended from its state of possibility.

Sasuke's room was basically empty. It was these four-walls and his lonely and uncomfortable cot. No windows, no light. Nothing. Just darkness, darkness, and more darkness. Three years in these dumps. Three years in the shadows. He was fiending for some light.

Sasuke reread the first entry again. Something was bothering him. What is it this time? There's a detail. What is it this time? Look, look, and look again. There it is again:

"And Sasuke-kun, until the right moment, please, I urge you to not show this book to Naruto-kun—for the sake of the _right_ future."

_Please, I urge you to not show this book to Naruto-kun._

_I urge you…_

_To not show this book…_

_To…_

_Naruto-kun…_

_Naruto._

_Could you possibly be alive?_

_What if you're ali—_

"Ssssasuke-kun…"

Orochimaru scared the shit out of him. He was in his head. He was caught off guard. He couldn't get out of that place in his head. He was in think-mode.

_Could Naruto possibly be alive?_ That question, over and over and over again. It was insanity. He ran the scenario in his head. Their fight, their battle as a means to an end. The final blow.

Rasengan versus Chidori!

A thousand birds & vermillion light…

_How are you still alive?_

Orochimaru stroked his cot-side like a fuckin' creepster. Sasuke told him to _eff_-off. Orochimaru _ku-ku-ku'd_ his slimy, snake-ass out the room. Sasuke was left alone to think all over again.

He stroked Hinata's diary and thought this:

_If _Naruto's alive, that means _this_. He didn't murder his best friend in cold blood. Which meant _this. _He wasn't guilty. Which meant—he still had a chance at family. He could be free of three years of self-loathing and guilt and rut.

_If_…

Sasuke tucked Hinata's diary back into his waistband and counted the seconds to the minutes until he fell asleep. He only knew one thing for certain. He was gonna have nightmares tonight.

(_Indeed you are, Sasuke-kun. I'm afraid those won't leave you until you face the truth_)

_Shut-up, Hyūga Princess. Why are you in my head?_

(_I'm here now. You'd better get used to it, Sasuke-kun_)

Sasuke fell asleep chanting_ shut-ups_ in his head to the newfound, invisible voice of Hyūga Hinata.

His eyes hurt for some reason.

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: Sasuke's POV intro-ed. Sorry it took so long. Naruto and Sasuke are the main characters of the story. There is a huuuuuge ensemble cast accompanying. Hinata will play a much bigger part than I initially intended. Shikamaru, Ino, Ayame, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Sakura, etc. POV's may switch around chapter to chapter. **

**PART TWO: AKATSUKI will be revisited as a continuing arc later on. With the next chapter PART THREE will begin. It will be the first ARC of the story, formally. It is massively going to dictate the investigation into Hinata's death, the conspiracy behind it, her ability to see the future, Sasuke's journey to redemption, Naruto's path to closure, in some form. The Byakugan is a heavy focus and almost a sort of 'theme' that will stick around for the duration of the entire story.**

** Yes, the prologue of the story will still occur. That is a moment that will probably be many chapters later. I have a basic idea in my head for the plot and the arcs but no concrete outline, and I don't plan on creating one. I find writing fanfiction to be an immensely fun side-project when freestyle'd. Bear with me :P**

**I apologize for any delays hereon. I've got a pretty tight schedule. I can't make any promises but I'll do my best to upload as frequently as I am able to. I hope you all stick around and enjoy.**

**Please review :)**


	17. Shika & Naru: Tag Team Duo!

**XxXxXxX**

**PART THREE:**

**THE INVESTIGATION**

**XxXxXxX**

* * *

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:**

* * *

**"_SHIKA & NARU: TAG TEAM DUO!_"**

* * *

Naruto smoothed the diary-entry page with his fingertips. He did it unconsciously. He read from the page without even looking at it. It's been less than a day since he received this "gift" and he couldn't help but want _more_.

It should've been enough that he ever got to hear Hinata's inner-voice—a voice that spoke to him, no less—but it wasn't for some reason. The more he had of her, the more he wanted.

He was in a rut. This was becoming a downward spiral.

He's sitting-in-bed-all-day and smoothing out a straighter-than-a-katana paper. All. Day. Long.

He resolved to go out. He had a feeling. You know, _that _feeling. Sometimes, this weird, psychical instinct kicks on in his brain. It helps him to uncover the hidden things in his life. Currently, Hyūga Hinata was that.

_Why Hinata?_ That question, redux.

_Why Hinata? _That question, re-plague.

His Fantasy-Hinata whispered—_It's all a conspiracy, Naru-kun. You're not allowed to be happy._

Naruto pocketed the page and his headband and somersaulted right through his window.

He reached the hospital in two minutes flat. He was going _faaast_. He wanted to see Hinata. He had dual-motive. Closure and something else. The something else was just a hunch.

He saw Sakura-chan on his way in. He ducked his head. He didn't want to be seen right now. He wasn't trying to be sneaky. He just didn't want to deal with the questions.

"Hey—Naruto-kun!"

She saw him like _that_. His blonde-head was something she'd learned to register rather quickly. Bright-haired people always caught her eye. It was a psychological aftereffect. She was picked on for having pink hair her whole childhood.

Naruto ducked-on.

Sakura flagged him down.

"Hey, Sakura-chan."

"Jeez, Mr. Down-and-depressed. Lighten up. I'm only your best friend that you haven't caught up with yet. It's only been, like, three years since we hung out."

Naruto smiled and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm not really feeling up to it. Rain-check."

Sakura flashed disappointment. "Turning down a date with _moi?_ _C'est impossible!_"

Naruto hah-hah'd. "I'm not smitten, y'know. I just adore you a little bit too much."

"I think I've grown used to it."

"So…?"

"_Soooo—_you can't just take it away now."

Naruto hah-hah'd.

Sakura play-tapped him on the shoulder and pouted. "I'm not getting anywhere with you today, am I?"

Naruto held her face. "Not today, Sakura-chan. I appreciate the offer though."

Sakura held the hand he held her with. "Naruto-kun—how many more days like this? Don't you wanna get back to being you? Doing missions? Taking names? Kicking ass? It's been so long since we even got to go on a mission."

Naruto said, "Of course I do. I'm on a mission right now."

Sakura said, "What's that?"

Naruto said, "I'm gonna solve the conspiracy behind Hinata-chan's murder."

Sakura shot him a discrepant look. She called bullshit. She was a non-believer. "Naruto-kun, it happened. Let it go."

Naruto hah-hah'd and grinned sheepishly. "I'll see you later, Sakura-chan."

Sakura stared melancholically.

Naruto took off towards the morgue.

* * *

He took the stairs. He heard mumbling from around the corner. It was inside the room. Naruto heard through the morgue-walls. It was unclear. He missed a few words here, a few sentences there. _This _is what he heard:

_Hokage-sama said…I'll take over as lead…sub-rosa…stay active…_

Shikamaru's been tasked. Simple enough to deduce. He determined that much when he walked in on Tsuna and his meeting yesterday. So he's trying to fink out a conspiracy, huh? Tsuna knows there's something fishy about all this. She chose Shika as her right-hand.

What about me, Tsuna?

_ More details…_

_ Cause of death._

_ Puncture-wound in the heart. Left-to-right-atrium slice._

_ Sub-causes…_

As in?

_Something, something?…_

He missed the answer.

_ Toxicology._

_ Psycho-state._

_ Victim was in shock. Leftover adrenaline in the glands._

_ It's clear-cut._

_ She was killed where she was killed._

_ Seemingly, no motive._

_ It's open-and-shut…_

_ No motive indeed._

"Naruto—you can join us if you want to."

_Fuck-shit-bitch!_ Naruto bit his tongue. He entered the exam room proper. Shikamaru and Ino stood opposite each other. The exam table was empty, thank Kami. They were reading out Ino's post-mortem report. Shikamaru was here on strictly business. For Naruto, this was personal.

Tsuna tasked Shika to attend to the death of Hyūga Hinata.

Naruto tasked himself to uncover the truth. There's a conspiracy behind her murder. Try and prove me wrong.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto. "Naruto, pleasant surprises seem to be omnipresent." Hah-hah—sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Stop leeching, Uzumaki. This case is mine. Show some professionalism. I ain't got nothin' against you. But this is _my case_.

Naruto said, "I'm glad you're happy to see me." _Ouuff_—that's pithy. It's crystal-clear. You're happy to see me. I couldn't give a rats ass. Oh, nice, you're a jounin now. Good for you. I'm next-in-line to be Hokage. Let's not play who's-worthy. You'll be beat every time. Your case, _my ass._

They both locked eyes. They would've locked brains if they physically could've.

Ino saw the mental showdown. "_Booooysss…_"

Naruto and Shikamaru snapped out of there showdown. They dusted nothings off their shoulders. They both stood arms-crossed.

Ino said, "Kami—I can sense the testosterone in the air. Do I have to make you two hug it out?"

Shikamaru broke his pose and smoothed his ponytail out. "What are you doing here, Naruto? Hokage-sama has classified this space as clearance-only personnel."

Naruto's still cross-armed. "I'm here to see Ino-_chan_."

_Huh?_

Looks all around. Ino's a little more than surprised. She reeled it in and put on no-expression.

Shikamaru called bullshit. "Yeah, right. You and Ino have barely spoken a dozen words to each other since we've all known each other."

Naruto did not respond with words. He's a man of action. Naruto approached Ino and slid his arm around her waist. He had to make this look real. If Tsuna found out he was going maverick, he didn't want to wonder what the repercussions would be. She would most definitely strip his headband from him. And we can't have that.

He winked at Ino and hoped to Kami she got the message. _C'mon, mind-reader, help me out. I'll owe you one_.

Naruto laid one on her. Ino eyes-wide let him lay one on her. She succumbed to it for a second. She nudge-nudged him off of her. He played it off as a love-shove.

Shikamaru looked surprised.

_Did you buy that?_

Shikamaru looked at Ino, then Naruto. From Ino-to-Naruto. "_Oh_…"

Ino snapped to Shikamaru. Oh, Kami. _Wait, it's not what you're thinking buddy_. "What "_oh_" Shika?"

Shikamaru hand-in-pocket shoulder-shrugged. "I mean "_ooooh_." I didn't know you two…"

Ino internally face-palmed. _Kami, Shika, for all your genius, when it comes to love, you wouldn't know what it looked like even if it hit you in the face_. She played along. For now.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "I'm gonna take the report with me, if that's okay? I've gotta rubber-stamp this so the Hyūga family can prepare for Hinata's funeral service."

Ino nodded. "Do what you have to, Shika."

Shikamaru left. He shoulder-brushed Naruto on his way out. It was his frenemy statement, action-proxied. _Don't hurt my girl. That's my little sister you just laid one on._

Naruto got the message. Beware, _or else_. Not to worry, Shika-_chan_. That was just for you.

The door _shut_.

Ino stared at Naruto. Naruto stared at Ino.

Ino picked up her autopsy-scalpel and chucked it dead-eyed at Naruto.

Naruto barely dodged it. He caught it between his fingertips before it hit the ground.

"How dare you!"

"Ino—I'm sorry. If Shikamaru told the Hokage, I could get in trouble. I can't have that. I just got back, and—"

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!"

_Ouch._

"The next time you think you can pull something like that, remember the pointy-end of that scalpel, why-dontcha."

Naruto put his hands out defence-like. "I'm sorry, times a thousand-billion-trillion, Ino-_chan_."

Ino huffed. "I swear to almighty _Kamiiiii_, Naruto."

Naruto sighed. Crisis averted.

Ino said, "What do you want? Why are you back here again?"

Naruto said, "I didn't lie. I really am here to see you."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to let me see Hinata's body."

Ino flashed surprise. She was feigning anger. She didn't mind the kiss really. It was quite a nice kiss, as a matter of fact. It just wasn't how she imagined it happening. But then again, in her life, nothing went according to plan.

She never planned on falling in love with Uzumaki Naruto, _aka_, the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. But she did.

Ino dead-eye stared at Naruto. She was trying to discern motive. None was found. "Why?"

Naruto shoulder-shrugged. "Humour me?"

Ino shook her head _No_. "You don't walk into _my _territory and tell me what to do. This is _my _lab. This is _my _case. You're gonna have to do better than a simple "_humour me_."'

"Don't fib. This is Shika's case now."

Ino glared. "This is _my _case. Shikamaru's business is not yours, and FYI, neither is mine. Tsunade-sama wants to put this to bed as soon as possible. There's a potential for severe political fallout over the matter. You already know all this, Naruto-kun. So what are you doing here causing trouble?"

Naruto huffed. "I just want to see her one last time. I need closure."

Ino waited. _More_, she demanded.

Naruto obliged her unspoken request. "Ino—you need to understand. I've never been in this place before. I am feeling…a lot of different things. And I have talked to nobody about any of them. I'm full. Like, to-the-brim, full. I have so much going on in my head. Everyone's telling me, "Naruto, let it go." But how can I let go of the fact that Hinata loved me and is now dead _because _of me?"

Ino approached. She hand-on-shoulder comforted Naruto.

Naruto said, "I feel like a little kid. I can't deal. I don't know why."

Ino smiled. "It's okay, Naruto-_kun_." She held his face. She stared into his eyes. She smiled that Ino-smile. It made all woes disappear. Naruto's eyes were glossy.

"I wish I got to know her better."

_Kami_—Uzumaki, get off the Hyūga-tip already.

Ino said, "Naruto-kun, she's dead. Leave the dead be."

Naruto brushed her hand away. He about-faced. "I know I should, but I can't seem to. It's been 48 hours and I'm fuckin' stuck. I dream about Hinata in my sleep. I day-dream when I'm not sleeping. She's in the room with us right now. She'll always follow me around. That's what I think. That's what I _feel_. She's my ghost."

Ino held herself. "I can't say I know what that feels like, Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun…if you need someone to talk to—I mean, if you're open to therapy, I'm certified for that sort of thing. Professionally speaking. Or friendly. Up to you. _If_, I mean."

Naruto shook his head. "No thanks, Ino."

Ino said, "I just want to help you, Naruto-kun. We're friends. Do you remember what I said to you three years ago? We all gotta root for each other. We're all teammates. It's not just Team 7 or Team 10 or 9 or 8—it's Team Konoha. We're the rookies, remember?"

Naruto said, "You can help me by letting me see her, Ino. _Please_."

Ino sighed. She internalized brutal-truths. _Naruto! You're in love with a dead woman! You're alive! Love life! Choose the living and leave the dead where they belong!_ She yelled to her hearts content in the confines of her mind. She let it all go inside. She imploded gracefully, in that Naruto never even saw a glint of it appear on her face. Here's the finisher:

_You're alive…Love life…Love me, Naruto-kun…_

_ Love me—_

_POP! _

_ SNAP!_

The cab rolled out smooth-like. Ino turned her back and crossed her arms. She allowed Naruto privacy. She hoped he received his closure, if there was ever such a thing as that.

When she couldn't take it anymore she turned around and saw _this:_

Naruto, hovering over Hinata, examining her. His bandages are off and his eyes are glowing. He's got his fingertips on her forehead. He looks like a sage. He looks like a fortune-teller trying to read a dead-girl's mind.

She watched mutely. She observed. What are you up to. You surely want something other than closure. That's evident.

_Wait—_Naruto's not trying to read her mind. He's trying to feel her heart. He's trying to feel her _love_.

_WTF?_

Naruto began to glow yellow like a fuckin' egg yolk. The colour got brighter. It was sun-bright and it flittered on-and-off like a faulty light-bulb. Ino overlooked his transformative appearance and noted the storm within. She was a mind-reader. She could tell. She felt his heartbreak. She wished he felt hers.

Ino said, "Naruto."

Naruto turned to look at her. He had tears in his eyes. "Ino."

Ino said, "Let it go."

Naruto said, "I can't. She's dead because of me. You know that too. The Akatsuki's goal—capture all tailed beasts. If I wasn't here. If I wasn't the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. If I didn't exist."

"You can't blame yourself."

"Why not? Prove me wrong. Tell me I'm lying. You know the truth about me. You know that I'm a Jinchūriki. You see _this?_ _This_ is not my power. _This_ is that damned fox's. Hinata turned all his hate into something more powerful. Something tangible. This aura that cloaks me. All I can feel is her love. I wish it lasted forever."

"You're more than just a vessel."

"The Akatsuki don't seem to think so—"

"The Akatsuki are terrorists!"

"And I'm just a monster."

"Let's put that to the test! Tell everyone. Let's see what they have to say."

"I'm not trying to lose any more friends."

"Bullshit! They'd accept you in a heartbeat."

Naruto paused. "Not everyone is like you, Ino-chan. Not everyone is like Hinata either. I mean—who else would love a freak like me?"

Ino gazed at Naruto deeply. She scrutinized him for never realizing _her_ feelings. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Naruto pointed fingers. "Would _you? _Huh? Would _you?_"

Ino said, "I would."

Naruto flashed surprise. _Huh?_

"_I love you._"

Naruto blinked his eyes. Ino disappeared. The morgue disappeared. Hinata disappeared. The dead carcass of a tanuki-dog took her place in her cab. And then his cloak of yellow-flames disappeared.

When he opened his eyes he found himself in his bed, in his apartment, _faaaar _away from Konoha General and the morgue.

Naruto's sheets were smothered in sweat. He held Hinata's diary-entry in his right-hand grip. The paper was crinkled with over-gripping and wet from his sweaty palms.

He tried to remember if it was all a dream. If not, how much of it was real? Sometimes he felt paranoiac that the Kyūbi possessed him in his slumber Shukaku-like and took his body out for a spin.

_Fuck, I'm going crazy caged up in this shitty, old apartment. I gotta get outta here._

* * *

Destination: Konoha General Hospital.

Naruto didn't somersault out his window. He walked the old-fashioned way.

Naruto didn't make it to Konoha General in two minutes flat. It took him 15 at the very least, give or take.

Konoha General Hospital, redux.

Naruto trailed through the main foyer. Note that Sakura-chan is not working. Note the difference, Naruto. He continued towards the morgue. The elevator was out of service so he took the stairs. He heard no mutterings, and no voices. _Fuck, how illogical can a man dream? We are ninja. We're silent. We don't make noise._

Naruto walked right up to the mortuary exam-room door and _knock-knocked_. Nobody answered. He opened the door and walked in. It was dead-as-Hinata dead.

It was cold. Colder than usual. It was definitely colder than the dream. _Ahh—_Non-supervision hours. The bodies had to be kept at just the right temperature. Ino probably set the damn thermostat herself.

Naruto rubbed his arms. He realized he'd come this far in shorts, a kaioken-tee, and a pair of dragon-ball flip-flops. He was a mummy with _styyyyle_. His left flip-flop was number-4. The right was a 5. Hah-hah. That's a 9.

He couldn't remember Hinata's cab number. Even if he did, it would be the recollection of a dream. What the fuck good was that?

Naruto spotted paperwork on a tool-cart beside an exam-table. He approached. He thumbed through the paperwork. He toiled with fervour. _Ah—there!_ Hinata's number was 16.

He popped the cab open. He came here with a plan. He wasn't here for closure. Fuck that shit—there's no such thing as closure. Closure was for sissies trying to convince themselves shit could be reconciled. Nothing is reconcilable except that this case needed to be solved. Then, he could reconcile Hinata's soul with the afterlife.

Hinata rolled out _slooow. _

There she is. So beautiful. As beautiful as ever in fact. She was like a chrysanthemum frozen in time. Her beauty knew no bounds. Naruto was enamoured. He was spellbound. He felt the course of time run through him. He wasn't ever able to look at her so closely. She was always this beautiful. He just hadn't noticed it.

_Alright—focus, Naru. You got this. _

Naruto had a theory. His plan was simple. It's all about the _eyes_. Why else would the Akatsuki come after _Hyūga _Hinata. Exactly. There's no other reason. But the question remains—why did it have to be _her?_

Naruto unravelled his bandages. They laced around his flip-flops. His iris mutated. A pair of scarlet-coloured shadows ringed around his eyelids. He breathed. _Be one with it. Now, be one with her. You are her, and she…is you._

Naruto reached towards her face. He didn't flinch but he did hesitate. His hand hovered a few centimetres away from her. Thoughts flew a million miles-per-second through him. His heart fluttered a little. He felt like he was breaking the law. As a matter of fact, you are, Uzumaki Naruto. Now, finish what you started, law-breaker.

He caressed her skin. It was cold. It was brittle. He sensed softness beneath the ice. His fingertips brought new warmth to her dead particles. It was an effect of sage mode. Natural energy wills nature. Therefore, don't touch the body for too long. Decomposition will accelerate. And you don't want to answer those questions. Get in and get out. Like you planned.

Naruto popped her eyelids open. Pale-coloured eyes stared lifelessly at him. He bit back hesitation this time. He shut his eyes and focused. He searched for something. He found it. He opened his eyes and forced her Byakūgan to life. It pulsated. The veins around her forehead throbbed. Hinata appeared to come back to life for an instant. It was a faux-pas. He only stimulated her eyes.

Naruto flinched and fell to the floor. The cab rolled _shut!_ Naruto re-wrapped his bandages and thought _this:_

_Hinata's Byakūgan is in tip-top shape. There's not a scratch on it. There's no sign or evidence of an attempt to steal it. But then…I don't understand…Why did The Akatsuki capture Hinata? To get to me? If they simply wanted to get to me—_

(**_don't be foolish, they had to pick someone close_**)

_And who's closer to me than Sakura-chan, or Jiraiya-sensei?_

(**_They know something you don't_**)

_What's that?_

"It's not hers, Naruto."

_Shit! So much for being a good ninja._

Shikamaru leaned cooly on the doorframe. Naruto looked at him and pondered how to react. Shikamaru's not an asshole in real life. Dream-Shika was an alpha-male hobnob. He awaited further dialogue. He would allow what came hereafter to dictate his responses.

Shikamaru approached the exam-table. "I was thinking the same thing you did."

He helped Naruto up to his feet. Naruto patted nothing off his shorts. Naruto rubbed his arms. He was _c-c-c-c-cold. _Shikamaru said, "I think there's a better venue for _this_. Do you drink tea?"

Naruto said, "At this point, I'd drink anything that's hotter than my piss, Shika."

* * *

Kono-Tea Shop.

Naruto and Shikamaru sat across each other. They sized each other up. Shikamaru's curious. Naruto ditto. They weren't as close as brother's but they were just as distant.

Shika was a regular. They were served like V.I.P.'s. Shika ordered a genmaicha—that's a puffed rice tea. Naruto ordered bupkis—_as in_, this fuck knows next to nothing about tea. _As in_, tea, to Naruto, was _huh, that green thing the girls are drinking to keep a trim figure?_

Shika _ssssssipped_.

Naruto drank green tea. It was nasty. It was warm. The latter compensated for the former. Naruto sipped it without complaint.

Shikamaru set his cup down. "Tsunade-sama has appointed me in charge."

Naruto said, "I thought Ino was in charge?"

Shikamaru said, "She was. Now I am. Further questions?"

_Nope_.

Shikamaru said, "Good." _Ssssssip_.

Naruto said, "What did you mean back at the morgue?"

Shikamaru straightened his ponytail. "I mean that the Byakūgan you saw in Hinata's skull is not her own. It's a genjutsu."

Naruto choked on his tea. "That's impossible. Nothing is hidden from sage mode."

Shikamaru chuckled. "I don't know nothing about that, but I'll assume you're genjutsu-free. All I know is that Hinata's real eyes are missing. It's like I theorized. The Akatsuki killing Hinata—that wasn't collateral. That was a hit. Plain and simple."

Naruto _slammmed!_ the table. Their teacups rattled. "I fucking knew it!"

Shikamaru retrieved his cup. _Sssssip_. "Good for you. What's our next step?"

Naruto focused. "Well, you said it's a genjutsu. What is it's purpose other than to act as an illusion."

Shikamaru slapped his knee. "Good! That's what I figured too, right? There's gotta be more to it than just the illusion. That's where our friend Ino comes into the picture."

Naruto's face went _how do you mean?_

Shika went, "I had her do a cold-read on Hinata. That genjutsu…it's no illusion. That genjutsu is some sort of key. It's heavily layered. It's the most difficult cryptology we've faced in terms of genjutsu. Kurenai-sensei was on it for 10-hours straight and she got bupkis. Ino's been reading cold ever since, sifting through whatever wasn't destroyed by brain-death. The eyes are the key. I'm sure of it!"

Naruto downed his cup in one big-ass _GUUUULP!_ and _slammmmed_ his cup down on the table.

Naruto said, "What's your stake in this?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "C'mon, Naruto. Can it, with the antagonizing behaviour. Hinata wasn't just _your_ teammate. We all came out of that classroom together."

Naruto said, "_But?_"

"_But,_ one fine day, I thought I could do with some cloud-watching. Instead, I find Izumo-san in my seat. Thanks for the wake-up call. I mean that."

Naruto _hmm'd_.

Shikamaru said, "I read the report. Ino's a terrific pathologist."

Naruto _hmm'd_.

Shikamaru deadpanned. "Oye—Uzumaki! C'mon! Stop being such a slouch. You wanted _in_—you got it. Now buck up and let's get the fucking job done."

"I plan on it. I can do it alone."

Shikamaru face-palmed. "Kami, Naruto, don't you get it? I'm saying, let's be partners."

"I get it just fine, Shikamaru. Look, we're friends, but nobody else will understand. I need to do this alone."

Shika scoffed. "Y'know—you're reminding me of someone right now."

Naruto huffed. "You don't get it, Shika. Nobody gets it. Nobody will. The things I know…"

Shika went, "You're talking just like Sasuke used to."

Naruto slammed his fists onto the table. "I am nothing like Sasuke. I'm in it for _love_."

Shikamaru leaned back in his seat. "Wtf are you talking about, Naruto? _Love?_ What kind of love? The kind you've known for barely two days—that kind of love? The kind you only know one side of—that kind? The kind that you haven't even displayed reciprocation of—that kind? Because all I'm seeing right now is a fucking child who's in a bout of full-blown _lust—_"

Naruto leapt the whole length of the table and took Shika down. Shikamaru was caught off guard. Naruto hammer-fisted the _shiiiit!_ out of him. He was full-mount, pounding away with lefts and rights.

Shika kicked Naruto off of him. He flicked a finger up. Naruto stuttered mid-air. He froze. _Shadow Possession—success._

Naruto huffed. He writhed. He fought the shadow possession. Shika strained. _Kami—calm the fuck down, Naruto!_

Naruto decelerated. He went from 100-to-0 like _that_. He breathed calmly. His eyes were apologetic. Shika noted that. He released the jutsu. Naruto stretched on the floor, embracing his newfound freedom. Shikamaru also laid on his back and watched the clouds drift by.

Passerby walked neatly across the perimeter of their section. The shop continued uninterrupted. Their server placed their bill on the table and went _gonzo_. _That's shinobi business—they're all a buncha crazy fucks!_

From the supine position:

Shikamaru said, "I'm sorry—"

"You should be."

Shikamaru said, "Slash, not sorry."

Naruto clenched.

Shikamaru went, "Because it's true."

Naruto unclenched. "Maybe you're right. But this girl—she just went and died _for_ me—_because_ of me—I-don't-fucking-know! Whatever the case may be, I owe Hinata-chan my life in return. And if what you're saying is true…I'll make sure I find each and every one of 'em…and I'm gonna slaughter the fucks!"

Naruto fist-slammed the earth into a bunch of spider-web cracks.

Shikamaru reach out to Naruto with a fist. "I owe just as much as you do, Naruto. We're the rookie 9-ers—remember? We're the hotshots out of the academy who thought we could take the chūnin exams our first year as shinobi. We went up against the monster of the sand. We chased after the last Uchiha and encountered Orochimaru's bodyguard squad. We're the rookies that survived all of that shit. Get out of your head. Think about what the rest of us are going through—actually, fuck that—think about what Hinata's family, her _team_ is going through. Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, Shino, _fuck,_ even Akamaru!"

Naruto's q.t. He stared at Shika's fist. He reached out and bumped it.

Shika arose and held out a hand to Naruto. Naruto took it haphazardly. He was pulled to his feet. The two held hands a minute. Shika shot Naruto a smile. They locked two fingers. _Ah_—the seal of reconciliation.

Naruto smiled back. He felt odd. He felt like it had been too long since he'd smiled. Naruto's smile deepened.

Shika fixed his ponytail.

Naruto went, "So what now?"

Shikamaru went resolute. He said, "Now, we investigate the Hyūga. 'Cause I'll bet you a million bucks that that Byakūgan genjutsu was placed by a member of their clan. And honestly—my money's on Hiashi. Hinata's father."

* * *

CHAPTER END.

* * *

**A/N: The story continues. **


	18. Investigating the Hyuga Clan

Naruto, an Epic.

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

* * *

"INVESTIGATING THE HYŪGA CLAN"

* * *

Naruto and Shikamaru twiddled their kunai holster-flaps. They stood outside the Hyūga Clan Compound. The gates were shut. This was a time of mourning for the regal Clan. They had just lost their princess. Ditto Naruto. Shikamaru just felt overall sorry for himself. He was a sad sack of shit. He was supposed to be a Jōnin. A shinobi who always took care of his comrades. He failed. He always failed.

Two failures twiddled their kunai holster-flaps. The gates swung open. Hyūga Hiashi greeted them. He evinced stoicism. Even in mourning he maintained a form of calm and composure most people did not.

Shikamaru took lead. He only did it to prevent Naruto from saying the wrong thing. "Hiashi-sama. We are very sorry for your loss. Hinata-san was much more than a teammate. She was a dear friend to us all and anyone she met. She was a strong and valuable shinobi. It is indeed a great loss."

Hiashi, _Hmm'd_.

_Asshole_—that was the collective thought.

Shikamaru bowed. Naruto ditto. Hiashi didn't budge.

_Asshole_.

Hiashi about-faced. He entered his gratuitous "home." Nix that, more like castle. Naru and Shika followed. Wide-eyes and jaw-drops followed.

Shikamaru slipped his sandals off; Naruto slipped his sandals off.

Naruto grit his teeth. _You fuck, do you keep Hinata-chan with the Branch?_

The castle was elegantly designed. It was brimming with decor. _There_—paintings from Miyamoto himself. _Look_—they had authentic first-edition Kishimoto's hung from the ceilings. The castle looked like an art culture museum. Shika's inner-dreamer was not impressed—there were no clouds.

They followed Hiashi's back. They projected their inner-dreams on his silky-ass robes. Each robe-flutter set off a dream-shatter.

Shika would paint clouds _allllll_ over the ceilings—or _fuck it!_ He would just pop the whole damn ceiling off the castle and see the real deal.

_Flutter_.

You think you're good enough to ever have a pad like mine?

Shika saw cloudbursts. His head drooped. _Nah—I ain't good enough, Hiashi-sama_.

_Shatter_.

Naru imagined becoming Hokage and living in a place like this. He imagined himself and Hinata post-married life.

_Flutter._

The poor girl's dead. Leave her in her grave you weirdo.

Naruto shoved his hands in his pocket. _Why's life so unfair—_

_Shatter!_

Hiashi and Shika snapped to him. Naruto flinched—_WTF—did you guys hear what just went off in my head?_

The realization hit slow. But when it hit—

"I am _soooo_ sorry, Hiashi-sama."

Naruto held out apologetic hands—palms of guilt. _There—_a ming vase, shattered and splayed quite dangerously over the floor. Shika face-palmed. Hiashi's eyebrows twitched. He didn't budge. He about-faced and continued.

Hiashi led the pair to a conference room. A long table surrounded tatami. They seated themselves neatly. Naruto nearly bonked himself on the head. He had to constantly remind himself—_low ceilings._ He was getting taller.

Hiashi straightened the crease of his robes. "Hokage-sama spoke of your impending arrival. What can you do for me?"

_Huh? Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?_

Shikamaru said, "We're here to be of any service you require, Hiashi-sama. Tsunade-sama has tasked us to ensure you do not go through this tough time with any more difficulty than your are already having to deal with."

Hiashi, _Hmm'd_.

_Asshole._

Shikamaru waited.

Naruto clenched his teeth tighter.

Hiashi said, "Very well. You may assist the Branch family in organizing the funeral process. And you can also tell me when the hell I'm getting my daughter's corpse back."

Shikamaru gulped. "Hiashi-sama, we're just waiting for the TI Dept. to conclude their autopsy."

Hiashi, _Hmm'd_.

Naruto slammed his fist on the table. "Don't you give a damn about your daughter, man?! You're sitting there, "humming," like you're so goddamn indifferent. Hinata-chan was your daughter. Your flesh and blood. Your _own _flesh and—"

"She was little more than a disappointment."

Naruto slammed another fist on the table. He arose from his seat and about-faced. "I'm sorry, Shika, but I can't stand to be in front of a father who, even after his daughter's death—nix that, _murder_—can't seem to look past her shortcomings. And _btw_—you created those shortcomings yourself. If only you'd have loved Hinata-chan the way you were supposed to. You're the disappointment, Hiashi."

Naruto stormed out. He banged his forehead on the low-ceiling on his way out, he was _that _mad.

Shikamaru held his hands out apologetically. Hiashi still hadn't budged. But there was something in his eyes—_are those tears?_

"I apologize for my partner's behaviour, Hiashi-sama. I understand this is a difficult ti—"

"Indeed. I would put a leash on that fox."

* * *

Naruto barefoot-stormed out of the castle and _slammed!_ the gates on his way out. Hyūga Hiashi be damned! He didn't give a rat's ass! He would get his answers some other way. Whatever way he had to.

_Hanabi…_

Naruto stilled himself. _Become one with everything_—

Naruto's Sage Mode flickered to life. He searched for Hanabi's chakra signature. Not at the Hyūga Compound. Not at the Hokage Tower. Not at his apartment. _Where are you Hyūga Princess?_

_THERE!_

He sensed four chakra signatures, coupled together. Hanabi's one. Konohamaru Co.?

Naruto leapt off. They were close to Training Ground #11.

He _blitzed_. Nobody saw him. He was like sunshine-glare. Cover your faces, this light'll blind you, it's _that _bright.

Naruto landed at the edge of the training grounds. He didn't see them anywhere in sight. He pushed past the grounds into the forest. He followed more than their chakra signatures. He followed their very essence.

He sniffed the air. He traced Konohamaru's musk. He followed their scents.

He flew through the forest, leaping from branch-to-branch faster than lightning. _THERE—_

Naruto jaw-dropped as he witnessed Hanabi and Konohamaru sparring—Kono's Friends Co. are being basic-bitches and fan-girling on the sidelines. Hanabi's got no fans. But _Kami! _what he saw _shook_ him. He saw _this:_

Hyūga Hanabi performing the 64-Palms Hidden Technique.

And Konohamaru.

Blocking.

Every.

Single.

Hit.

With an armour of mini-Rasengan's floating _this _close to his body.

_Maaaaan—Rookie 9 looks like shit compar—_

Hanabi pushed past 64.

_Shit—she's pushing for 128!_

Naruto dived into the middle of the forest clearing, hands outstretched. He'll either take the hits or perform a fucking mirac—

Time slowed. Naruto twisted mid-air.

Konohamaru expanded his mini-Rasengan's. Now they're giant-Rasengan's.

Time slowed further. Naruto's reaching in both directions—Hanabi's fingertips and Konohamaru's Rasengan's.

Hanabi's fingertips were blazing bright-blue fire.

_When tf did these kids become so strong?_

Time ceased completely. And it resumed.

_SLAP! _

_THAP!_

_CLUNK!VHYOOOM!_

Naruto grabbed Hanabi right behind the wrist with his right hand and pushed Konohamaru away with his left. The Rasengan's continued their expansion. Naruto stared wide-eyed. It all happened so fast! Naruto barefoot-kicked the Rasengan's with his left leg. They _flew! _

_THUNK—_Konohamaru thudded against a tree-trunk.

_FSHHH_—Rasengan's sailed through the air, faster than Naruto moved.

Naruto flipped Hanabi over. Her face _SLAAAMMMMED! _into the dirt-floor. Naruto pulled her arm back above her head. She couldn't move.

_BOOOOOOMMMMMM!_

The Rasengan's _'sploded_ movie-action style. Fangirls fan-girled off on the sidelines. Konohamaru grit his teeth. Hanabi ditto. Naruto jaw-dropped at the Rasengan _'splosions_.

Wait for it…

_WAAITTTT FOR IIIT—_

"WTF WERE YOU TWO THINKING?!"

Konohamaru flinched. His anger fizzled out. Hanabi resisted. Naruto pulled her arm rougher. She whimpered. He let go. Not before he put her beside Konohamaru. He arms-crossed stared them down like a disappointed dad. They averted their gazes.

Naruto softened. "More than just a Sexy-Jutsu, eh? You're strong, Konohamaru."

Konohamaru looked slowly. Naruto was smiling. He smiled back. He leapt up and hugged Naruto death-grip-tight. Naruto fell over in the process. They roared. Hanabi watched curiously.

Naruto got Konohamaru off of him. "You've grown up so much."

Konohamaru beamed. "You bet, bro. Couldn't fall behind, now could I?"

Naruto ruffled his already-disheveled hairstyle. Konohamaru grinned wider.

Naruto said, "But sparring to that extent is extremely dangerous." Then, in a whisper, "And a word of advice—keep some strength to yourself. It's not fun now if you show everything is it?"

Konohamaru nodded. "Hai! Bro, I would love to show y—"

"Hanabi, I need to speak to you."

Konohamaru pouted. He put on an angry expression.

Naruto went, _Later, Kono_.

Konohamaru got it. He nodded.

Hanabi said, "What the hell do you want from me?"

Naruto gave her a look that said, _You know exactly what_.

Hanabi played her character well.

Naruto said, "I just met your father. Charming old chap ain't he?"

Hanabi grit her teeth. "Don't. Talk. About. My. Father."

Naruto scoffed. _Is it really that simple?_

"Oh, I've got _looooots_ to talk about your old man. Starting with: Why does Hyūga Hiashi hate Hinata-chan so much? Oh—and why did the Hyūga Clan put a faux-Byakūgan in Hinata's corpse?"

Hanabi gulped. _Oh shi—_

* * *

"Neji, I'm really sorry about Hinata."

Neji said, "It's alright, Shika, it isn't your fault. Where's Naruto?"

Shika said, "He stormed out after making a scene in front of Hiashi."

Neji smirked. "Forget it, Hiashi's a dick anyways."

Shika went cock-eyed. "Are _you _really saying that, Hyūga Neji? The man who named Hyūga Hiashi his saviour after the chūnin exams nearly three years ago?"

Neji said, "Yes I am. Hiashi's a great man, but he has the incredible tendency to be, quite frankly, a _dick_."

Shika slapped his knees. "Don't you know it."

Neji said, "Make sure you tell Naruto it wasn't his fault either. He's quick to place burdens on himself."

Shika went serious-mode. "I've been trying, Neji. I've _beeeeen_ trying."

Neji _Hmm'd_.

Shika said, "Hiashi said to help the Branch with funeral prep. What needs doing?"

Neji said, "Nothing, really. We're just waiting on…"

Shika went, _Gotcha_.

Neji said, "You might be able to help there, Shika. Move things along quickly. You know these things shouldn't be left 'till later. It's inauspicious."

Shika snickered. "Didn't think you were one to believe in those things."

Neji said, "I don't. Except the Hyūga Princess just died, bro. There's a time when things gotta change. No matter what Hiashi thinks, Hanabi isn't ready for _shit! _She's a spoiled brat. She thinks she's better than her elders. She's not. She has a lot to learn."

Shika hand-on-shoulder comforted Neji. "Everything will be okay, Neji."

Neji shed a tear for his fallen cousin. "It is such an inexplicable pain to acknowledge that Hinata is gone and can never return. Not her ghost. Not her 'spirit.' Nothing of Hinata remains. That pain. _That _pain, Shika."

Shika said, "I can't imagine, Neji. But you _can _honour her."

Neji went, _How?_

Shika said, "By helping me."

Neji said, "Anything. What do you need?"

Shika said, "Can you tell me about the Byakūgan? More specifically, does a Byakūgan ever fade away?

Neji cock-eyed Shika.

Shika went _Yeah, I'm reaaallly asking_.

Neji went think-mode. "If I go by the history books—_no_."

Shika said, "What about otherwise?"

Neji said, "_Well_, there have been trojan-horse plays from the Hyūga to whomever. A heavy genjutsu is placed on the non-awakened—someone without a Byakūgan—and sent to lure out any portending danger."

Shika went _Yikes_. "Your clan _uses_ members as cannon-fodder?"

Neji got sheepish. "It's shameful. You don't have to remind me. Not a day goes by where I don't want to up and flip the rules."

Shika went _Someday, brother_.

Shika said, "Thank you, Neji."

Neji said, "Please return Hinata to us soon."

Shika tapped his nose.

Neji went that-a-way. Shika went _this_-a-way.

He thought thoughts. He pondered major-shit. The Trojan Play. Did Hiashi take Hinata's eyes? Did he plant a genjutsu in their place? Why is Hiashi such a dick? And where _tf _is Naruto?

What does all this shit portend?

* * *

Naruto beat tree-trunks with his bare fists. He buried splinters _this _deep into his knuckles. Hanabi vamoosed _that _quick. Naruto mulled over newfound information. He pondered. He brooded. He thought thoughts. He thought them faster than Shika. He was defter than Shika in matters regarding Hinata-chan.

_Whatever it takes._

Hanabi told tall tales. Naruto believed her every word. He Sage-Mode authenticated her honesty. He caught her lying twice. That was enough to set her story straight. She passed with flying colours the rest of the way. She didn't know much. But she knew _some. _Hanabi told him _this:_

The truth behind Hinata-chan's eyes. Daddy-o-Hiashi hid Hinata's real eyes a _loooooong_ time ago. Reasons unknown. And contrary to popular belief, and contrary to his behaviour, Daddy-o-Hiashi didn't hate Hinata. All Hanabi knew was that Hinata told Hiashi to hide her eyes.

_Fuck-shit!_

This whole deal was clusterfuck. Shit coming out of left field and directions nonexistent. Newfound information prompted newfound questions.

_Hiashi hid Hinata's eyes_—why did he hide them?

_Hiashi hid Hinata's eyes_—where did he hide them?

_Hiashi hid Hinata's eyes_—did he destroy them?

The answer? A big fat—

_IDK!_

Naruto knew bupkis and he felt useless. He was a tired fuck. He packed up his brain and his scattered thoughts and vamoosed to his dingy apartment. He took a detour by the hospital. He thought he'd see Sakura. He knew he'd see Ino. And he definitely wasn't leaving before seeing Hinata-chan.

* * *

Morgue-sesh.

Naruto Ino. Sakura's out of sight. She must've gone home. Ino rarely leaves her post.

Ino tended the morgue like she did her garden. Her dead bodies were definitely the _freshest _Naruto had laid eyes on. She took pride in her _crop_. Metaphors-galore. She sheep-grin rubbed the back of her head and he shook-shook the image of her being the gardener-of-the-dead from his collection of scattered thoughts.

Ino snapped her gloves off. She sat behind her desk and got cozy. Naruto stood on the other side.

Ino said, "You keep coming back here. I'm beginning to think you like me."

Naruto clenched fists. She noticed. "I'm not here to piss around, Ino."

Ino cock-eyed him. "Then why the hell _are _you here?"

Naruto shoved his hand in his pocket. "I have no freakin' idea. I keep thinking about Hinata. I'm helping Shika investigate Hinata's death. There seems to be some giant conspiracy that I just can't sniff out. _And _I'm telling _you _all this _idk_ why. I'm starting to lose my head, Ino. I've been back not a week and my fantasy of how things were supposed to be are already shattered."

Ino swallowed a knot. "How was it supposed to be?"

Naruto put his hands up. "Idk—I thought I would come home, show off a little, prove how I wasn't that snot-nosed brat anymore. I thought I would have a big-ass reunion with the whole entire rookie-9 and we would all sneak in liqs and I was gonna steal Jiraiya-sensei's pipe and we were going to have so much fun."

Ino went teary-eyed.

Naruto said, "This all sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

Ino said, "Not at all, Naruto. It sounds like you really missed your friends."

Naruto said, "I did. And I miss Hinata-chan even more right now. I feel like fate let us meet one last time, so that Hinata-chan could tell me her feelings."

Ino got _un_cozy and approached Naruto. She gave him a tight bear-hug and went _Everything's gonna be okay, Naruto-kun!_

Naruto blushed. Ino ditto.

No acknowledgements. Naruto's in _looooove _with dead-Hinata. Ino's gotta suck it up and bury her feelings. He just doesn't like you like that, hun. Ino carried a strand of hope, regardless of that fact.

Naruto broke their embrace. "Thanks, Ino."

Ino smiled. "We're friends. It's what we do."

Naruto smiled.

"Am I interrupting a moment?"

All-eyes-on-Shikamaru.

Ino said, "Not at all."

Naruto said, "Where the hell did you disappear to?"

Shika gave him the _look_. Naruto sheep-grin rubbed the back of his head.

Shika said, "You mean where did you _storm _off to, after tearing Hyūga Hiashi a new one?"

Ino went wide-eyed. Gossip-girl awakened. "WHAAAAAT?! IwannaknowIwannaknowIwannaknow!"

Naruto facepalmed.

Shika ditto.

Naruto said, "It was nothing that dramatic. Hiashi was being a dick about Hinata. He disrespected his dead-daughter. I don't respect that shit."

Ino frowned. "_Fine_."

Shika went _Ahem_. "I have news."

Naruto and Ino snapped to.

Shika said, "I talked to Neji. He said that it isn't unheard of for the Hyūga Clan to do something of this sort. They've planted Trojan's to lure out any enemies this way before. Genjutsu is placed on non-awakened Clan-members and they're sent out to martyrdom."

Ino said, "That's fucked up! I can't believe the Hyūga would do that to their own family members."

Naruto said, "That's it?"

Shika cock-eyed him. "You got something?"

Naruto hesitated.

Shika caught that.

Naruto _lied, _"No."

Shika _Hm'_d. "Well then what I've got is better than nothing."

Naruto _Hm'_d. "Now what?"

Shika said, "I want you to do a brain-read, Ino."

Ino said, "I've been psycho-analyzing her since morning, Shika. I got bupkis. Idk what you think this is supposed to accomplish."

Shika went _tut-tut. _"Just trust me. And I want Naruto to assist."

Naruto said, "How? I don't know anything about psycho-analytic jutsu. I've never done a brain-reading. It took everything I've got just to learn genjutsu."

Shika said, "I don't need you to know brain-reading. Ino's the expert there. I just need your Sage-Mode."

Naruto went cock-eyed.

Shika said, "I read about it in the report."

Naruto went _Ahhh_.

Shika said, "Ino will link you. I need you to use your Sage-Mode as like a sort of topographical sensor. Catch my drift?"

Naruto nodded. "You want me to create a picture based on the emotions I receive through Sage-Mode?"

Shika winked. "You got it."

Naruto winked-back. It wasn't the same. "You intuited all that from just a single action-report?"

Shika winked. "I'm not that same old whiny brat, you know."

Naruto smiled.

Ino said, "Anybody wanna clue me in?"

Shika Naru got her up to speed. Sage-Mode _à la _human-lie-detector.

Ino went _Wowza!_

Naruto blushed.

Shika patted him on the back.

They all got pin-drop silent. They all got The Shivers, simultaneously. It was morgue-room-cold. They all got serious.

Ino rolled Hinata out of her cabinet. She was pal_er, _if that was even possible. Her hair was stiff. Naruto wanted to touch her skin. He refrained from touching anything, period. Shika observed. He chewed on a toothpick. No-smoking in the morgue. He got his filthy habit from Asuma-sensei.

Naruto unfurled his bandages. Naruto stood still as a rock. Naruto evinced nature, true and pure. He inhaled a breath of the wild. He separated yin from yang and _all that jazz_. He went Kurenai-smokey-eyes. His pupils went slant. The drop reverberated a sound that sent chills through Shika. Ino watched in awe.

Look at us, all grown up, huh?

Naruto went _Your turn, flower-girl_.

Ino went _Yōsha!_

Ino tapped her forehead to Hinata's. It was sisterly. Their heads departed. She placed a fingertip to her noggin, then to Hinata's. She focused. Intensity followed. Chakra-waves permeated the air. Ino centre-focused the waves and gun-shot them into Hinata's brain.

She commenced the read. She held Naruto's hand the whole time.

Naruto felt bone-crushing grip. She was holding him _that _tight.

Brain-reads made her uncomfortable. It was like trying to wear somebody else's skin. It felt tight in the weirdest places and loose in others.

Shika toothpick-chewed and observed.

Ino went in _deeeeeep_. Ino became Hinata. The Battle Against Pain, redux. Death, redux. Relive everything. Feel the richness of your worthlessness _that _much harder. Ino felt Hinata's emotions; that's, love, hate, and all of the above. She shed tears. She didn't wipe them. She didn't even notice she was crying. She was _that _deep.

Naruto stood still as a rock. He wanted to move but he didn't. He wanted to wipe her tears but he couldn't. He felt everything Ino felt. _As in_, he felt everything Hinata felt.

Then _this_ happened:

Everything went blank.

Ino went as far back as she could. Hinata's memories dichotomized with her sense of sight. _This shit didn't match_. She went back even further. Memories desisted entirely. Sights ditto. They just heard garble. A few words here and there. Memories of sentences. Memories of memories. Hinata's brain was locked down tighter-than-her—

"I'm so…proud…Hinata-hime…"

"Please…I…seeing the future…dangerous…hide them for me…Chichi…"

"Naruto—"

"Sasuke—"

Naruto escaped Ino's bone-crushing grip. He floated. He felt woozy.

Shika dropped his toothpick.

Ino didn't budge.

Naruto said, "_WTF _was that?"

Ino didn't budge.

Shika got question-mark-curious. "What happened?"

Naruto shoulder-shrugged and blubbered garble worse than Hinata's brain-lockdown.

Shika consternated.

Ino still had her hand out where Naruto left it. It twitch-twitched. Naruto didn't get it. Shika face-palmed.

"Oye—Naru—for Kami's sake. Hold her hand again. Don't be such a pussy."

Naruto gave Shika the finger. "Eff-you Shika. You're not the one experiencing a six-sense Hyūga-brain clusterfuck."

Shika facepalmed. He stuck a new toothpick in his mouth.

Naruto reached for Ino's hand. She seized. She backed away from Hinata. She blinked her eyes a million times and shook-shook like she was having a full-blown seizure. She looked here and there like she was blind. Then, she spoke. And what she said gave Shika Naru goosebumps. She said _this:_

"_The Fourth Hokage lives—his Fire never died. The red-raven birthed the tricky little red-fox the darker-than-night wolf. The Queen birthed her princess. The Princess The Fox, whose paths shall diverge, beware of the place where the skies weep and where the moon shines red; and where the clouds are ablaze even in winter-cold…_"

Ino _stfu_.

Naru Shika were on the q.t.

Ino came back to life. She blink-blinked and rejoiced that she could _see_.

Naruto said, "_Wtf _was that?"

Ino said, "I have no clue. I kept winding back Hinata's memories. I was looking for her eyes. I found _this _instead."

Shika said, "What else did you see in there?"

Ino said, "_We _saw—"

She paused. She shuttered Hinata's eyes. She slid her back into her cabinet. She continued.

"We didn't really _see_, so much as we _heard _or _felt_."

Shika said, "_As in?_"

Naruto interjected. "I heard Hinata's voice. It was kind of muted. Kind of filtered. I can't really explain it. But I heard her. And I heard Hiashi as well. He said he was proud of her."

Ino said, "Hard to believe that after what you told me today—"

Naruto said, "Yeah, but this was different. He said something and we felt his honesty through Hinata."

Ino went q.t.-quiet.

Naruto said, "I lied to you guys about not having any leads."

Shika mouthed, _I know_.

Naruto rolled his eyes and gave him the finger.

Ino stayed on the q.t.

Naruto said, "When I _stormed _out, I went to the training grounds. I found Konohamaru and Hanabi sparring. I broke up their fight. And then afterwards…I sort of interrogated her."

Ino wide-eyed went, "_AND? _What did she say?"

Naruto said, "She didn't know much. But she said that Hinata told Hiashi to hide her real eyes. She didn't know why. But I think…I mean, this is crazy if I'm right, but…I think I know why."

Ino bit her lip. "I think I do too."

Shika said, "Clue me in whenever you feel like it."

Ino said, "Like Naruto said, we heard things through a sort of filter, like Hinata's got some sort of protection so nobody can invade her mind easily. But…"

Naruto said, "Hinata's eyes see the future. That's why she told Hiashi to hide them."

Shika snapped his toothpick in half. "_Shit_. Then our theory gains some credibility. Maybe The Akatsuki weren't just here for you. Maybe there's a reason they took Hinata."

Ino went wide-eyed. "Her eyes!"

Shika went, _Bullseye_. "And when they didn't find what they were looking for—"

Naruto said, "They killed her."

Shika nodded. He spit his toothpick into the trash, cool-like.

Ino went on the alert.

Shika said, "What's up?"

Ino said, "Someone's headed our way. Be cool."

Naruto nodded.

Heel click-clacks resounded down the hall. The click-clacks got louder and much faster. Shika, Naru, and Ino waited with bated breath. The doorknob turned. The latch clicked. The door swung open. Sakura ran in, exasperated, and clinging a mission-statement to her chest.

They all saw the look on her face. It spoke volumes. It was _HORROR!_

Naruto q-eyed her. "_What?_"

Shika Ino were frozen. They awaited her answer.

Sakura went serious. "Team Kakashi's been called into action. Gaara of The Sand has been abducted by The Akatsuki."

* * *

**A/N: It's been a while. I haven't forgotten about this story. Hopefully y'all stuck around.**

**The story continues. I'm hoping to explore Hyuga history earlier on than canon. That way we can segue into the Otsutski Clan smoothly rather than outta left field. The summary states Naruto & Sasuke as the protagonists. That is still true. Hinata is the catalyst behind the events that proceed. Without her sacrifice-and what she set into motion, by "delivering" her diary to Sasuke-none of this would be possible. The Shinobi War that followed (The Pain Arc, Killing Orochimaru Arc, etc) is entirely altered because of Hinata's actions in this story. **

**So read on. And make sure to keep guessing and lending feedback. Fanfic isn't fun without some banter. I'd love to know where you think the story should go next. We might just go down that route. Like I said, fanfic is fun that way...**

**P.S.-Reviews are appreciated ;)**


	19. Kazekage Rescue Mission - Pt 1

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

* * *

KAZEKAGE RESCUE MISSION…

* * *

—PT. I—

* * *

_"…__The plot thickens!"_

* * *

Team Kakashi soared tree-bound towards the barren vestiges of The Land of Sand ahead. Naruto leapt tree-to-tree. He led by default; he was too fast to keep up with. He had the most to lose. _First Hinata…now Gaara._

Friend after friend after friend. All because of a curse they were born with. Naruto never made his peace about that. _I never chose this life…you chose it for me_.

"The Fourth Hokage lives…"

Hinata's words. They echoed deeply. Naruto pondered the conundrum. She spoke riddles to him. _Sasuke was always the smarter one_. Shake that thought. You stopped thinking about The Uchiha a _looooong _time ago. Don't _re_start now.

Naruto burst forth with great speed. The trio landed smoothly on velvet sand. It was beautifully empty. Nothingness engulfed them. Sandstorms contrived. Storms-a-brewing. Best move quickly.

Team Kakashi channeled chakra like floodgates become opened. They burst across the shifty-sand with ninja-_eeeeaaassseee_.

Naruto told Shika and Ino carry on. _I'll be back_. He would. And they would proceed together when he did. Until then, Ino would replicate Hinata-chan's memory-palace and save the info in a storage seal. Until then, Smarty-pants Shika would return Hinata-chan's body back to the Hyūga. None the wiser. Nobody's got to know. Their investigation was the _private _kind. They would sleuth and gather intel and crack the code behind Hinata-chan's riddle, and discover the reasons why she had to die.

_What did your eyes see, Hinata-chan?_

* * *

_Orochimaru's Hideout - Unknown Coordinates…_

* * *

Sasuke's eyes hurt. They'd been aching for days. He didn't let on about that. He guised that shit. He didn't want Kabuto to know. He was a snitch and Orochimaru was his sugar-daddy.

Sasuke enclosed himself in his bathroom. Sasuke rubbed an ointment on his eyelids. It cooled them. He dipped a brush in squid-ink—reportedly obtained from the Eight-Tailed-Ox—and one-at-a-time drew a symbol on his eyes. He channeled chakra into his eye-sockets. He'd learned acute control of his bodily functions. His eyes were his jewels. He knew how to mask his Uchiha scent and chakra-colour. _Karin taught me that_.

She fawned over him. She was just another bitch-ass-hoe. She behaved that way _aaaallll_ the time. He knew there was more to her. He just couldn't manage to conjure a fuck to give.

His eyes _siiiiingggeeeed_…

Sasuke thought about Sakura. He was a proud Uchiha of the Leaf Village again. He was just a kid again. He was just a _kid_. And he broke her heart.

(_How many times, Sasuke-kun?_)

_Shut up_.

Sasuke shook-shook. Don't think those thoughts. It's a downward spiral. Don't descend. You're supposed to be growing, remember?

(_You cannot grow without first forgiving yourself. Growth comes from the inside firstly; and then when the world comes together to pave the path you must walk upon_.)

Sasuke splashed his face with cold water. The ink faded. Steam rolled off his eyelids. His eyes didn't hurt anymore. Tailed-Beast chakra can save a man from within an inch of death. Sasuke stole from The Snake-Man's supply. Sasuke was gathering supplies for his departure.

(_Soon, Sasuke-kun…not yet…but soon_.)

Sasuke learned to ignore the imaginary voice that accompanied him. Hinata was painstakingly annoying. In real life, she never made a peep. He always wondered if she was dumb or just shy. He always wondered the thoughts she thought and how she would have talked if she did. He took back all those always after first-hand experience.

_You talk too much_.

(_Do I?_)

_Yes. You do. Now shut-up_.

Sasuke stroked diary-pages. He pondered. Since the moment he read the words it became the only thing he pondered.

_You must spare the life of Uchiha Itachi_.

Fuck. That.

(_My eyes see things you don't, Sasuke-kun_.)

_You're talking like Itachi. And didn't I tell you to shut up?_

* * *

SUNAGAKURE:

* * *

KAZEKAGE TOWER

* * *

"Thank you for coming, Naruto. I know Gaara would've appreciated it."

Naruto said, "Never say thanks, Temari. You know Gaara is as much my brother as he is yours."

Temari choked up. Tear-fall. Naruto joined in. The rest of Team Kakashi watched. Somber news was part of the deal they made when they became ninja. It was in the fine print, next to the sell-your-soul-for-nothing-in-return add-on.

Team Kakashi made it to Suna in record time. Naruto tired them out with his crazy-fast pace. He wasn't even fazed. Naruto was a fucking champion. After all, he was trained by Jiraiya, a Legendary Sannin. And his training paid off fo-sho.

Temari hugged Naruto. Naruto hugged. Temari. Hugs-went-all-around. Embraces were broken and facts were spoken. Last known location. The Akatsuki. Those bastards. They took Gaara. They took him to their hideout. Kankuro tried to stop them all by himself. Kankuro's in a coma. Kankuro's been poisoned by something foreign. It was Sasori, The Puppet Master. He _made _all the puppets Kankuro uses. Please, Naruto, save them.

Naruto bit his lip. He swallowed the facts. He felt _rut!_

Sakura came up from behind. She rubbed his back. He caressed her hand. He appreciated her comfort. He smiled his thanks to her. She knew the languages he spoke. Bet everything on him. Naruto was a Man of The World.

Naruto said, "Can we see Kankuro?"

Temari led the way. Suna's hospital facilities were marvellous. Sakura knew all about it. She was a huge fan of Suna's—not to mention the whole ninja-world's—medical innovator: Lady Chiyo. She and Tsunade-sama birthed so much of what the world now knew as medical-ninjutsu. They made something the majority treated as irrelevant, _relevant_. They made it more than just about patching up your cuts and bruises. They made it about being able to save lives and take them too.

Team Kakashi felt the weight of a thousand suns at the sight of him.

_Kankuro_.

He was in bad shape. He was poisoned less than 24 hours ago. Temari was on her way back from co-hosting the chunin-examinations. She wasn't home, therefore she could not protect it. She couldn't save Gaara. She pondered whether she would've even made a dent in The Akatsuki's defences. If Gaara was taken, even after going all-out, what good would she have done. Kankuro's _here_. Gaara's _there_. Somewhere. Temari was going to save her brothers.

Naruto grit teeth. He bit his tongue. "Sakura-chan, is there anything you can do?"

Sakura snapped to. Naruto's aura _rrrrrrrollled_ off his body in waves. They were choppy. They were angry. Serious. They gave her goosebumps.

Naruto went, _Can you?_

Sakura nodded. "Let me run diagnostics."

Naruto said, "He ain't a fuckin' machine."

Sakura flinched. "I-I just need to check his vitals and assess the situation."

Naruto gesticulated. Sakura moved quick-as-a-rabbit. Naruto observed.

Kakashi stood in the corner. He observed both of his students. They were grown up in ways he never imagined. They were beyond the point of learning. They were beyond the point of learning from _him_. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Wrinkles came through the fabric. Naruto caught that. He nodded at his sensei. Kakashi reciprocated.

Sakura hand-hovered over Kankuro's body. He seemed in a lot of pain, even while comatose. A beam of green enveloped Sakura's hands. She hovered and scanned. She hovered a little longer in certain areas more than others.

Naruto observed. He had studied the technicalities of medical-ninjutsu as a formality. As in, Jiraiya _made_ him. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Naruto had no application for it. 9-o made medical-ninjutsu a non sequitur. His beast healed him faster than Tsuna-chan.

Sakura locked eyes with Naruto. She shook her head.

Naruto bit his lip. He locked eyes with Temari. Tear-fall-procession. Naruto couldn't take it. He undressed a few bandages and zoned into Sage Mode. His eyelids went blood-red and his pupils turned egg-yolk-yellow. He felt Kankuro's energy fading. He bit his lip and grit his teeth. He clenched fists. He thought thoughts. He had to save him. Somehow.

Naruto said, "How long does he have, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura bit her lip. "_Idk_, roughly? It's hard to estimate. I would argue 24 hours at the most. At the _most_."

Naruto nodded his head. "Okay. 24 hours. Can you crack it?"

Sakura said, "You bet your ass I _will_."

"Not without me 'ya won't, girly."

Team Kakashi & Temari snapped to. _There_. By the doorframe. Old. Decaying. Elderly-_af_. She appeared to be on the brink of death. Lady-mutha-effing-Chiyo.

Sakura immediately bowed her head. "Lady Chiyo, it's an honour."

Lady Chiyo smiled. "At least you have manners."

Naruto scratched his chin. He bowed like, _monkey-see, monkey-do_. Lady Chiyo waved him off. She was entranced—slash, more like _enraged_—by the sight of Kakashi-sensei.

Lady Chiyo flung toothpick-thin senbon. Kakashi-sensei went, _Wtf_. He flipped and rolled and moonwalked-his-dumb-ass all across the room. He blocked every single one with his body—_as in, _his punk-ass got shanked a billion & one times.

_At least she missed his Man-Bits_.

Naruto held back laughter. Sakura couldn't help herself. Temari berated the old-lady. And Kakashi-sensei, well…poor guy couldn't even fall on his ass for fear of pushing 'dem toothpick-thin senbon right up his ass.

Naruto crossed his fingers and his heart—_For all the punishing…for every single Thousand Years of Death_…

The situation called for seriousness. Naruto berated himself. Everyone else went on the q.t.

Lady Chiyo said, "_Oops_. I thought you was the White Fang of Konoha."

Kakashi-sensei waved her off. "I'm his—"

He refrained from enlightening her any further, for fear of senbon-showers.

_Smart move there, Kakashi_.

Lady Chiyo said, "Whatever. Girly, you'll be needing my help with _him_."

She pointed at Kankuro.

Sakura smiled. She nodded her head like, _You bet, old-lady-Chiyo_.

Naruto clapped his hands. "Alright, you two focus on Kankuro. Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei and I will focus on locating Gaara."

Kakashi said, "They most likely took him somewhere quiet for tailed-beast-extraction."

Naruto nodded. "Bullseye sensei. Glad to hear age hasn't dulled your mind."

Kakashi gave him an underhanded middle-finger.

Naruto said, "I'll use my Sage Mode to track Gaara's chakra-signature. They couldn't have gotten too far."

Kakashi said, "We don't know what method of travel they took."

Naruto scratched his nose. "It's not like they _flew_. They're not birds, sensei…"

* * *

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE PERIMETER OF THE LAND OF SAND…

* * *

"Oye—Sasori, you _dick!_ Slow down."

Sasori puppet-eyed Deidara. "How about you move your slow-_ass_. We're on a schedule. Pain's expecting us soon. We can't run the risk of a tail…and we definitely don't want a battle-royale-showdown in the middle of nowhere."

Deidara said, "I thought this place was your home?"

Sasori said, "There's no such place as home. We're ninja. We make camp where we can."

Deidara q-eyed his partner. He was no emo-fairy-boy but his partner had the tendency to be a nihilistic _fuck_. "Oye—Sasori, why do you always talk like—"

Sasori said, "Home is weakness. It's a trap. It makes you _think _you're safe. You're _not_. The moment you kick your feet up and lean your head back some fuck'll slice your neck finer than Kisame-style sushi. Get it? Now _stfu_ and let's get. I'd hate for me to have to eliminate you as collateral damage. Pain'd be disappointed…"

Deidara flailed stop-motion-style. "SASORI! YOU! _DICK!_"

* * *

SUNAGAKURE

* * *

"Alright, Naruto. All set?"

Naruto cocked his head back, as in, _Yeeaaaahhhh_. "Let's get."

Naruto and Kakashi stood outside the Kazekage Tower. They stretched and breathed in sandy-air. They _thew-thew'ed _the sand-grains from between their teeth and tightened their backpacks.

Kakashi thumbs-up'ed. "You lead, Sage-boy."

Naruto stank-eyed Kakashi. "C'mon, sensei. What's with the name-calling. I'm still the same ol' knucklehead you remember from way-back-when."

Kakashi slapped him on the shoulder. "_Riiiight_. Just wanted to show you a little bit of that Hatake-wit—y'know—to prove that _age _hasn't dulled my mind _or _my sense of humour."

Naruto gave Kakashi the finger. Kakashi roared. Naruto went roof-bound. Kakashi ditto. Naruto was _fast_. Kakashi had a hard time keeping up. Naruto wasn't even using chakra to enhance his speed yet. _Dis shit's all Sage-Mode good-ness._

Naruto slowed. Kakashi and Naruto same-pace-parkour'ed.

Naruto said, "I can sense Gaara."

Kakashi q-eyed Naruto. "_That _quick?"

Naruto nodded. He put a subconscious hand on his belly. Kakashi got the point. Naruto saw that.

Kakashi said, "Which direction?"

Naruto pointed south. Kakashi changed his trajectory. Rooftops ended. _There_—the entry/exit-gates. Kakashi hopped down and full-sprinted through the gates. Naruto jumped the whole goddamn gate from the roof to all the way _there_. Kakashi one-eye-wide _staaaarrrreeed_.

Kakashi said, "Showoff."

Naruto said, "What?"

Kakashi went, _Nothing. _

So the student shines a little brighter than the teacher. Ain't that the goal? Ain't that the circle of life? The Student surpasses The Teacher. One day…_one day_…

Kakashi tap-tapped his heart in memoriam—_Obito…Rin…_

Naruto kept-on. He took lead again. He yelled information to Kakashi. Kakashi was having a hard time keeping up with Naruto.

Naruto said, "I sense two foreign chakras.

Kakashi said, "Akatsuki members always travel in duos." Naruto nodded. Kakashi saw the back of his head jerk once.

Naruto said, "I know one of the signatures. It belongs to an S-class ronin named _Deidara_."

Kakashi q-eyed the back of Naruto's head. Naruto felt it from _there_. He fox-grinned.

Naruto said, "Jiraiya-sensei and I spent a lot of time making reconnaissance of their _team, _if you can even call it that. We're probably the most qualified to go up against them."

Kakashi _wowza'd _from behind. Naruto felt Kakashi's pride surging through him. It felt _good_. After three years of hardcore, Jiraiya-whooping-me-day-and-night, he finally had something to show for it. And it was worth it, alright. Every. Fucking. Bit.

They tree-hopped, then bush-hopped, then dirt-hopped, then sand-surfed all the way to their target. They were about a kilometre out. Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. Kakashi nearly tripped. Naruto caught him by the collar of his flak-jacket.

Naruto went hush-hush. "Alright. They're not far."

Kakashi went, _Alright_. "Let's wait it out. I'll send a messenger with word back to Tsunade-sama. We'll follow them and await backup."

Naruto chewed his nails. "_Idk_…this could be our only chance. Once tailed-beast-extraction begins, it's irreversible. If they succeed, and we're too late…_Gaara will die_."

Kakashi finger-brushed his hair static-_up_. "My call. I'm senior. And rules are rules."

Naruto q-eyed Kakashi. "Alright, sensei. But someone once told me, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true; but those who abandon their friends are _worse_ than scum."

Kakashi facepalmed. "_Really_…who in the world told you that?"

Naruto fox-grinned.

Kakashi recomposed himself. "Alright, but we can't run into this blind, Naruto. This isn't Zabuza. We're dealing with The Akatsuki right now. They're a group of S-class shinobi. And of the two we're following right now, we've only got intel on one—"

Naruto said, "_Actually_…tailed-beast-extraction requires the whole team…_soooo…_"

Kakashi double-facepalmed. "So we might just be walking into the grand-fucking-ball is what you really wanna say?"

Naruto fox-grinned. "We'll be fine, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi shook his head. "Speak for yourself. You really haven't changed at all."

Naruto scratched his nose. "Stop worrying so much, sensei, you're hair'll turn _grey_…"

Kakashi stank-eyed Naruto.

Naruto fox-grinned. "Alright, alright. Don't worry. We're not going in blind. I've got the intel. And we've both got the balls…I mean I sure hope you got the _balls_. 'Cause I definitely do…"

Kakashi one-eye-wide said, "_Naruto—_"

"_Hehe_—just messing with you."

Kakashi said, "Alright, we'll move ahead, but we've got to come up with a plan. Worst-case-scenario—we'll have to face them all. Best-case—"

"There ain't no best case with them, sensei. Sorry to disappoint you."

Kakashi whacked Naruto upside the head.

Naruto rubbed his head and stank-eyed Kakashi like, _You know I let you do that, right?_

Kakashi said, "The Student ought to listen for once."

Naruto harrumphed. Three years of b.s. for this shit all over again.

Kakashi said, "We need a strong plan."

Naruto perked up. "_I've got it!_"

Kakashi said, "What now?"

Naruto said, "Trust me. You're gonna like it."

* * *

SUNAGAKURE:

* * *

KAZEKAGE TOWER

* * *

Lady Chiyo worked with absolute _eff-ing _finesse. Sakura watched in amazement. The old lady's fingers worked with surgical-precision. Her medical knowledge matched even Tsunade's. Sakura was impressed. Lady Chiyo couldn't give a rats-ass what Sakura was.

Sakura said, "Lady Chiyo, allow me to—"

"_AH! BAH! Move away yah little brat!_"

Sakura itched a twitch near her brow. _Who're you callin' a brat, yah old-wench?_

Sakura was—simply-stated—your plain ol' _hand-me-this, hand-me-that._ You're a-typical: Wrench-Boy. Except this was a poison-extraction; this was surgery never-seen-before by Sakura or the old bat. So that made Sakura your plain ol' Scalpel-Girl.

_Surgical Technologist. Get-it-right._

Kankuro snapped to and slapped Lady Chiyo away. The old bat cried and fell to the floor. Surprisingly, no bones were broken. Kankuro fell back into his coma. Everyone had one _wtf_-faces.

Sakura was _cheezed_. She moved away all the medical assistants. She barred Lady Chiyo from approaching.

Lady Chiyo protested. "Oye, you can't—"

Sakura said, "You're not accomplishing _shit!_ You're only prolonging the inevitable. Let me examine him. I'm a student of Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin and the current Hokage of Konohagakure."

Lady Chiyo snapped to at Tsunade's name. She mumbled something disdainful. The details were inexplicable. Sakura arms-crossed stared the old lady _down_. Lady Chiyo harrumphed and took a seat.

Sakura tied her hair up in a short bun. She washed her hands and put on a gown and a pair of gloves. She stared at the comatose Kankuro. He muttered in his state. He writhed a little bit. His body was giving up. She bit her lip. She was hella nervous.

This wasn't her first rodeo. This was just the first one that really _mattered_.

* * *

SOMEWHERE IN THE LAND OF WIND

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi slow-trekked. They were _faaaaar _away from Suna. They were in The Land of Wind, proper now. They followed The Akatsuki duo. Naruto re-wrapped his bandages once Kakashi locked onto their chakra signatures. Overuse of Sage-Mode had adverse effects upon the body…_and _the mind.

Kakashi sent a scroll via dog-summon—_Pakkun_—back to Tsunade, reporting a mission-update and requesting back-up. Pakkun was a fast little runt. He'd be back within a few hours _tops_.

Naruto was on the q.t.

Kakashi ruminated. _Naruto's stupid fucking plan_.

Naruto fox-grinned on the d.l. _That's_—on the internal.

Deidara and The Unknown Akatsuki member did a stopover at a tea-and-dango shop. They took two teas and dango to-go. Naruto and Kakashi skipped the fast-food and stuck to following them.

They were nearing the border of the Land of Wind and Land of Rain. They were _reaaaaallll_ far out. They didn't want to risk heading this far into foreign territory. Lucky for them, the duo made a final stopover.

Some barren cave in the middle of nowhere.

Naruto and Kakashi watched the two _knock-knock _on a rock-wall from a small forest. The two ghost-style fazed right through to whatever was on the other side.

Note the specificity of the knock-pattern. Also note—there's a fucking seal that spells _BOOM! _on the rock-wall.

Naruto and Kakashi _gulped_.

Naruto said, "We can't wait forever, sensei."

Kakashi said, "I know that, Naruto. That's supposed to be my line. Y'know, you really have grown, Naruto."

Naruto said, "_Really?_"

Kakashi nodded. Kakashi eye-smiled.

Naruto beamed.

Kakashi said, "You've grown in that you _talk_ even more than you _used to_."

Naruto deadpanned. "Eff-you, sensei. I swear, if you weren't me teacher, we would've just had a throw-down."

Kakashi q.t.-chuckled. "Sure we would, Naruto. But I don't think you'd want a _re_peat of the bell-test."

Kakashi one-eye-winked.

Naruto wagged a middle-finger.

Kakashi went q.t.-serious. "Your plan is really dumb, Naruto."

Naruto fox-grinned. "Don't fret. We'll be just fine."

Kakashi got into _deeeeeeeeeep_-thought. _Kami, I used to be an Anbu Cap. Now I'm takin' orders from a 15-year-old brat whose plan might very well get us murdered._

Naruto said, "You say something, sensei?"

Kakashi said, "Nothing. Let's go."


	20. Kazekage Rescue Mission - Pt 2

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

* * *

KAZEKAGE RESCUE MISSION…

* * *

—PT. II—

* * *

_The Plan is…!_

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi did the dumb-plan-replay and the plan-b, c, d reruns. Here's the schtick:

Naruto makes shadow-clones. He has them perfect-style transform into _hawt_-chicks and then promptly waltz through _that _rock barrier—_after_ they crack The Code. Distract The Akatsuki with thy unholy _hawt_ness. Then whoop their asses to kingdom come and in the midst of chaos kipe Gaara out.

Kakashi said, "Alright, but even if this works, what do we do after we have Gaara? You can't really believe that The Akatsuki aren't going to put up a strong front? I mean, they'll be on us till we make it back to Suna—_if_ we make it back to Suna…"

Naruto flicked Kakashi's headband. "Don't sweat it, sensei. We'll be fine. I've got an escape plan too. We'll be out in a _flash_."

Kakashi went, _Huh?_

Naruto wink-winked.

Kakashi went wide-eyed, _Are you ser_—

Naruto leapt from _here_ all the way to the rock-barrier. He examined the sealing jutsu. He recollected the number of times he got ass-whooped by The_ Pervert_-Sage. He formulated a counter-seal in a hot second. He whipped out his _scroll _

(we're talkin' ninja-tools, not his personal-ninja-tool…_wink-wink_)

and scribbled an illegible seal-formation.

Kakashi was adept at fuuinjutsu. He didn't get it.

Naruto pasted the seal on top of the primary seal with precision. He matched corner to corner. He didn't flinch. He didn't waver. He stuck it then rolled his palm over it to ensure it _stuck_.

Naruto hopped off the rock-wall and landed on a nearby stream. Kakashi ditto. They observed the seal. Kakashi waited for something to happen. Naruto undid his bandages. He went sage-mode-eyes. He radiated purity. He evinced nature.

Kakashi observed. He was prideful. His student had grown. Hokage didn't seem so far out of the picture anymore.

Naruto snapped to. He shot Kakashi a look. It said, _Ready?_

Kakashi went, _Always!_

Naruto fox-grinned. "It's hollow. It only allows specific chakra signatures through. I layered in our nature. So it's a free-for-all, inside and out. Once we jump through, activate the strongest cloaking jutsu you know. I'll extend some nature-energy to mask your presence, but if Itachi is in there he'll find us out in a second. Got it?"

Kakashi nodded. "Let's do it now."

Naruto shook his head. "The seal won't allow jutsu to pass through. I can't counteract that without allowing damage to escape. This has to be a contained battle. Once we nab Gaara we cut-bait right back out…I'll seal the pathway shut behind us. I layered _that_ into the seal."

Kakashi nodded. Kakashi eye-smiled. He ruffled Naruto's long-locks. Naruto fox-giggled.

They readied. They leapt in unison. The journey through the rock-wall was barren. They saw blackness, then—

Long, cavernous walls. It was endless. It was hollower inside.

_It always is…_

Naruto shook-shook. He side-jumped up-left. He activated his nature-cloak. He went invisible to the naked-eye and mostly all chakra-sensory-jutsu. Kakashi ditto. His cloak was weaker by proxy of non-sage-mode. It was still strong-_af_. They observed.

The Akatsuki.

Almost all members were present.

_No_.

Only Deidara and the puppet-master that poisoned Kankuro. The others were phantoms. They used advanced jutsu. Naruto chewed his fingernail. Kakashi one-eye_-watched_.

A giant statue hovered in the b.g. It emanated light. But where's Gaa—

_WTF!_

Naruto held himself back. He saw Gaara. _THERE_—floating, lifeless, the _beast _being siphoned from the inside _out_. Naruto clenched his stomach. He felt his _pain_. Sage-mode did that.

Naruto held back tears. He no-hand-seals/no-noise-no-smoke made four shadow-clones. They transformed before he even fully conjured him. His _pain_ drove him. He locked eyes with them. He went, _You know what to do_.

They nodded, _Yes-boss!_

The two shadow-clones, disguised as himself and Kakashi-sensei leapt off towards the opposite corner.

Naruto saw Itachi's phantom-eyes rove. He pain-grinned to himself. The Plan was already in motion. The Plan was already working.

Naruto signalled the other two shadow clones—the _hawt_-chicks duo. They knew their roles. They leapt to the ground. They were in revealing dresses. They appeared regal/regally-_slutty_. They embodied the whole deal-io—the 100-foot-wide/I can-almost-see-your-N*PS-_cleavage_; the _sex_-me-eyes; the barefoot/_loooooooong-_legs/get-lost-in-my-skin allure; the b.j.-lips and belly-chains that clink-clanked with every step.

So it was no surprise…that when they took their very first step…The Akatsuki were all-eyes-on-_sluts_.

Naruto and Kakashi watched the scene unfold.

The hawt-chicks waltzed.

The Akatsuki _watched_.

They said, "Hello, gentlemen."

Phantom-Itachi said, "You've got company…Deidara…Sasori…"

The phantom-Akatsuki's fizzled. Deidara chucked clay-birds at the two chicks and went, _KATSSSSUUU!_

Big-bang-'splosions overtook the scene. Smoke bogged the arena. The cavern went blind. Naruto and Kakashi were immune to blindness. Kakashi had a sharingan. Naruto _felt _with sage-energy.

The Akatsuki were immune to hawt-chicks, it would appear.

The two other Naruto and Kakashi clones _blitzed! _to Deidara's location in a flash. They held kunai around his neck.

Clone-Naruto jested, "You a gay-boi?"

Deidara went red.

Clone-Kakashi nearly dropped his kunai out of sheer laughter.

Sasori flailed his dagger-tail at them to knock them both off his partner.

The clones _blitzed! _

Deidara cussed a million expletives—_Jap_ and other languages.

Sasori said, "_Stfu _Deidara. Focus. Nobody cares if you're gay."

"I AM NOT GAY!"

Sasori went, _SHUSH!_

Deidara flipped him the finger and plunged his fists into clay-filled ninja-pouches, holstered to his waist-sides. He flung artful creations of clay everywhere.

Sasori stayed _still_. It unnerved the real Naruto and Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at Naruto with _q_-eyes. Naruto got the message: abort the plan—whoop their asses to kingdom come.

Naruto made a trio more of clones and sent them off with Rasengan's the size of moons. They chase-chase-_chased! _Deidara all around the cavern. They didn't allow him to construct much more _art, _as he called it.

Kakashi divided his sharingan between watching Sasori's every move—in this case, none at all—and battling Deidara—which, at this point, was basically just tailing Naruto while _he _whooped Deidara black and bloody and blue.

A split-second was all it took…

Naruto's clones dealt with Deidara and his claymations while the real one scooped up Gaara from the ground. Naruto flashed Kakashi a somber expression.

He signalled, _No pulse_.

Kakashi chewed his lip from the inside. He spun a wheel with his fingertip. _Let's go home_. He hoped Naruto got the message. Despite the fact that Naruto's clones were doing a spectacular job at occupying Deidara, Kakashi had the faintest feeling that all of their efforts were nothing more than temporary impediments. The two S-Class shinobi hadn't broken a sweat; heck, one of 'em had yet to even _move_.

_CLANGGGG!_

_FUCK!—_

Kakashi felt a sting in his back. He turned around to see a long metal tail made of daggers and knives extending out from beneath the earth. It led to Sasori's cloak. Kakashi was badly wounded…and most likely _poisoned_.

* * *

SUNAGAKURE

* * *

KAZEKAGE TOWER

* * *

Kankuro breathed his first peaceful breath as Sakura snapped her gloves off and wiped the sweat off her brows. Lady Chiyo appeared enviously awestruck. Sakura held back grins.

"It's done!" Sakura said. Lady Chiyo faux-patted her on the back. She didn't really mean it, at least that's what Sakura thought.

"Well done," Chiyo said.

Sakura nodded. "He needs rest. Temari, I'll be leaving him in your care. I ought to join my teammates on the battlefield. Gaara is still top priority."

Temari smiled and hugged Sakura. She whispered thanks in her ear and pulled away.

Sakura spun and reached for the door—

Chiyo stopped her. "_We_, my dear. _We_."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Chiyo batted her expression away. "The boy is dear. He is our Kazekage. If you think I'm leaving him to the likes of youse, you're poorly mistaken, pinkie."

Sakura clenched her fists and took deep breaths. "As you wish. Try not to get yourself killed."

"I know the drill, kid. I've killed more people than the number of years you've been alive. Let's get with it. Every second wasted gets us nearer to Gaara's funeral."

Sakura chewed her lip. "I'm sure Kakashi Sensei and Naruto are doing just fine." _I really hope you are…Naruto…_

Chiyo and Sakura left the room in a hurry.

* * *

The poison coursed through Kakashi's veins. _Heh…spoke to soon, _he thought.

He felt the effects quick. His sight became wavy. His body felt like a bundle of ramen noodles in hot broth. He was _this _close to falling on his ass. Then he did the impossible…

He _moved_.

Sasori never batted an eyebrow.

Kakashi smirked knowingly. _Too easy—_

He blitzed the cave with wolves made of lightning. They bobbed and weaved around Sasori and his puppet strings.

Sasori effortlessly weaved strings of chakra through the air, like an expert seamster cutting through the fabric of the air. His trick worked and he managed to wrap nooses 'round the lightning wolves necks and bind their hind-legs with a pair of chakra-strings each. He smirked beneath his mask. He clenched his fingertips and was about to pull the trigger on his strings—

The ground beneath him burst open, lava-out-of-a-volcano-style, and out came Kakashi, a chidori fashioned in his right-hand grip. He, too, smirked beneath his mask.

Kakashi plunged his chidori deep into Sasori's neck—

—Sasori's strings tightened 'round the wolves, effectively dismembering them.

It was a light-show like no other; lightning as blue as the heavenly skies rained like electric sparks from everywhere; to the naked eye, the darkened cave strobed with great epilepsy.

Kakashi followed through, tearing past Sasori into the air, rocketing towards Deidara, who was now floating upon two clay-birds he treated as footstools to hover around on; he was like Aladdin on his magic carpet and Kakashi was about to pull the rug right out from under him—

"_AGH!—_"

Naruto snapped towards Kakashi—_SHIT!—_

A large, spiked tail impaled Kakashi between the torso. He looked like a shish-kebab'ed mess.

Sasori stood on the ground, commanding a battalion of ninja-tools, all expertly navigating the air with the help of his chakra-strings. He appeared different. He wasn't low and hunched over. He wasn't wearing a mask anymore and his body was bare of any clothing. He had no male appendage. He was really a red-head and appeared somewhat like a puppet himself…

That was when Naruto realized something—_I never sensed him…because he's not human. There is no real _soul _in him to identify. Shit. Shit-shit-shit!_

Kakashi twitched involuntarily as he hovered—impaled by the dagger-tail—in mid-air. His eyes were wide. His mask was wet from coughed-up blood.

Sasori smirked. "Hatake Kakashi…S-Class Bingo bounty. I'll be collecting a tidy sum for myself with your corpse. It was nice knowing you."

"_You don't know me at all—_"

—Sasori went wide-eyes at the sound of the voice.

Kakashi impaled a chidori, this time through the _real _Sasori. He sliced his puppet-body in half. His body split apart and fell to the ground; his body lay cracked and broken like a vase when it hits the floor and shatters into a million pieces.

"How? The poison should've long rendered you immobile." Sasori asked, his arms and legs twitching at a distance from each other.

Kakashi flexed his wrists and neck. "C'mon—lightning clone—"

The Kakashi suspended in the air fizzled into electric sparks and the dagger-tail broke apart and fell. A delayed effect. But now Sasori had finally lost control of his chakra. He could no longer summon strings or even mould enough chakra to conjure a simple clone. He was ground material for the lightning. It hit him in small jolts and coursed through him like a repetitive drone. He jittered every so often from the after-effects. He was not dead. He was just inept now. What good is a broken man anyway?

"—I like to pace my battles from afar. A clone is a perfect way for me to gauge your powers without taking damage."

Sasori half-smiled on his left severed side. "Hah. I didn't even see you conjure it."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Yes you did, but this is no time for a conversation. I've got to deal with your friend over there. Sit still won't you?"

Kakashi summoned a shadow clone. The clone put a paralysis seal on Sasori's broken parts to ensure the puppet-man didn't move.

"OUUU! Famous Copy-Ninja!?"

Kakashi snapped to. It was a new voice. He couldn't see anyone in his field of vision. This wasn't the time for ptsd-hallucinations. He wasn't going mad. _Genjutsu?_ he thought.

"I'd love an autograph!…but perhaps that's wouldn't be right…"

Kakashi saw him materialize out of thin-air. A man with pitch black hair, wild and unkempt, cloaked in the trademark Akatsuki cloak, clad in red clouds, and he wore a mask. A bright, orange, one-eyed mask. His voice, his pitch, his mannerism, they were antithetical to his appearance…Kakashi had a bad feeling about this man…

* * *

Naruto sent barrages of rasengan like they were shot out of a cannon. He utilized acute chakra control to weave the spinning balls of jutsu around Deidara with expert ability. Kakashi was hit. He saw it before Deidara's presence demanded his absolute attention. And he was using up a lot of chakra. He could tell; his stomach grumbled; the beast was getting _hungrier_…

A part of him was occupied 24/7 fighting the Kyuubi for control. As the years passed, so, too, did his seal weaken. Apparently it was part of its design, from inception—that's what Jiraiya told him anyway. Naruto bought it, but he just couldn't figure out for the life of him, why in the world Lord Fourth would design the seal that way?

Gaara was being given first-aid by Naruto's clones off to a corner. The real Naruto did his best to occupy Deidara. His clones knew to escape whenever the coast was clear.

Deidara weaved around the rasengan atop his hover-birds. He shot clay-'splosive materials at machine-gun speed in Naruto's face. Naruto countered each explosive with defensive chakra maneuvers. Direct contact with a jutsu at its nucleus—then, inject a dose of your own chakra and allow it to stretch—thereafter, it _should _nullify the jutsu…the catch being your chakra must equally match the strength of the jutsu upon contact; after that one must be able to increase and stretch; visually, like two equal size shapes meeting, and upon contact, one overwhelms the other, growing, turning rogue, controlling the perimeters and damage and possibilities, changing _its _nature against itself, turning _it _rogue. Making another man's chakra your _bitch_.

_Who knew Ninja Theory would actually come in handy…_

Naruto replicated a byakugan-user's _finesse_ in movement. He was graceful, a paradox to his own true nature—the nature of _that _beast deep inside his belly.

He frustrated Deidara as he seemingly _poked_ his claymations to death, but Deidara had no clue the amount of concentration it took to keep this up. And with the amount of chakra Naruto was dispensing per second, he was sure to be out of it in _5 minutes flat_.

Deidara shot more clay-'splosives. He put out a flat palm and gunshot balls of clay, spitball-style. Nothing seemed to be working. The fuckin' brat had him occupied with a goddamn light-show of rasengan. He shot clay-'splosives at the rasengan. They exploded one by one, it blinded him further. Blue light turned to bright orange. New ones appeared in their place. He was getting quite tired of it.

A drop of sweat got in Naruto's eye. It burned. He blinked through it. He huffed. He was getting tired by the second. He kept on _poking_. He bided his time for too long. _I don't have any time left. I gotta end this now and we gotta get…otherwise Gaara_—

—_SHIT!_—

That one barely missed him. There was no time to pause and think and formulate—he just had to execute on the fly. Just like he always did. He had to improvise.

Deidara shot another barrage of clay. Naruto poked past them. Deidara focused on him with one hand, and his rasengan with the other. All he had to do was wait 'til he dipped his hand to reload, and then cluster the rasengan right into his blonde-ass and _KABOOM!_ there won't even be a trace of him left to bury.

Deidara felt his teeth balling together thinner explosives. He moulded extra chakra to give them more oomph but he knew it was only a matter of seconds before he would have to refuel. He waited. All he had to do was send a barrage of clay at Naruto, precisely the right ratio, at exactly the right time, and the timing had to be perfect. And he'd be refuelled and ready to go.

Naruto pumped as much chakra as he could through his body. His stomach stopped growling.

Deidara's hands chewed faster and shot _that _much harder. _Aaaaaannnnddddd—_

_—__Aaaaaannnnnnnnddddddd—_

_NOW_**_!_**

Deidara machine-gunned clay-splosives at Naruto; Naruto dodged and poke through every single one. Deidara dipped his hand into his clay-pouch—Naruto clamped his fist together as tight as possible…

No impact resounded. No hits on either side.

Naruto blinked his eyes. He felt someone pull and push him out of the way. He thought who other than Kakashi could have done that. The teacher jumping in to save the student. An old tale, worn out over the years. Naruto smiled despite that fact. But the sight before him was not Kakashi.

"_You_…really could have hurt my Senpai!" The masked man said. He shook his hands animatedly.

Naruto q-eyed him. _Who-tf are you?_

"Take off your mask," Naruto said.

The masked man laughed. "_You first_."

Naruto grit his teeth. His stomach was growling again. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"In a quiet place. _Tee-hee! _I like this banter. We're getting along grandly aren't we!"

"Who are you?"

"My name's Tobi. What's yours? They only call you '9-tails brat' at HQ. It's quite tedious as I'd love to get to know the people we're out capturing. You know, I love making new friends. Can't you tell?"

Naruto was getting annoyed. "Where is Kakashi Sensei?"

"I already answered that."

_Shit! I'm all but running on empty. I can't afford another fight right now…_

The masked man, Tobi, retreated to Deidara, much to the blonde-man's chagrin. He seemed quite fed up of Tobi. "Nehhhhh—Deidara-senpai! Isn't this quite the opportunistic turn of events?! We get two for the price of one, hahahah! The 1-tail _and _the 9-tails brat!"

"Tobi! You just got enlisted into the Akatsuki and you're not making a good impression! Don't make me kill you!"

"Deidara-senpaiiii!? I only care about you, senpaiii!"

"Tobiiiiii!"

Naruto plotted while they were distracted.

Kakashi was out of sight. Deidara looked ready to go another ten rounds, _and _he had backup now, and Naruto knew nothing about the new enemy. And Sasori…

Naruto scanned the cavern.

…broken into pieces. Doesn't look like he's getting up any time soon. He saw now, Sasori's true form was itself, a puppet. It explained Naruto's inability to clearly sense him. Speaking of, his body had begun to ache. Side-effects of sage mode overuse. Nature packs a kick, that's for sure.

_I've got one last shot. I hope to friggin' Kami this works…_

Naruto went still. He honed in on the nature chakra flowing into his body. He moulded his own chakra inside. He pulled every little bit of chakra he had left. He'd need it all for his next jutsu. He just hoped it didn't kill him to do it. He shifted his gaze—only for a second—and saw his clones ready to go. _Good—they noticed_. The clones got into a formation; they interlocked their fingers and formed a ring around Gaara's lifeless body.

Naruto shut his eyes. He focused. He tried to sense Kakashi's chakra. It wasn't anywhere in the room. _Shit! How is that even possible. Where are you Kakashi-sensei? _He stretched his senses outward, he pushed past his own sealing jutsu on the cavern exterior. Kakashi's chakra was nowhere. He couldn't feel it at all.

Naruto opened his eyes. He was ready. The jutsu was ready. _Here we go. I'm going to come back for you, Kakashi-sensei. I won't abandon my teammate! I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sensei…I'm sorry. I have to break my promise._

* * *

"EH! _EHHH! _Deidara-senpaiiiii! The '9-tails brat' is up to something!"

"OH, TOBI YOU FUCKIN' IDIOTTTT! I TOLD YOU TO WATCH HIM! INSTEAD YOU'RE AS SELF-OBSESSED AS USUAL AND JUST HAD TO MAKE A DRAMATIC ENTRANCE!"

"DEIDARA-SENPAI WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME!? I WAS JUST WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

"TOBI!"

"DEIDARA-SENPAIII!?"

* * *

_Everywhere I can feel, I can go. Everywhere there is nature, I exist…HIRAISHIN-NO-JUTSU!—_

* * *

Tobi and Deidara were blinded. All they saw was a yellow flash…

* * *

_Have I ever been here before?…it feels like nowhere…but it feels warm…like I can feel love…who's there?…will I remember any of this…wait whose voice was that?…who's there?…Hinata?…Kakashi-sensei?…Oh…you…I'm sorry for using your jutsu…I know it's forbidden…yes, I understand _why_ now…goodbye, already?…what if I'm not ready…don't leave yet…_dad_…you still haven't told me about mom…_

* * *

(_Keh! Brat. You konoha ninja. You, of all people. You. You will survive. It's funny to think that you remind me of Him…_)

* * *

_Fuck, this feels like shit…I feel like I'm all out of chakra and my muscles are about to give out on me…don't die yet, Naruto…man, I can't die, not yet, please!—_

* * *

Deidara and Tobi blinked and he was gone. The yellow flash dispirited. They scoured the cavern. He was gone. The 9-tails brat, the 1-tail Jinchūriki, the shadow-clones…he even took Sasori.

"That fucking brat!" Deidara said. He stomped his feet threw clay-'splosions at the far corners of the empty cavern.

Tobi backed off _sloooowwwlllyy_. "Deidara-senpai…hehe…uhm…I'll just go ahead and report this info back to HQ…since you seem a little occupied at the moment."

Deidara turned on Tobi. He flinched. "TOBI! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Tobi was out of there faster than you could say _dango_.

* * *

He reached the steel tower where Pain holed up in. Rain pattered against his hood and dampened his hair beneath it. It always rained here. He felt right at home as he thought of his own pain. He smelled the metal air and the dirty, humid rain. He _blitzed _to the top in an instant. Nagato awaited him. Konan was not by his side today.

"There's been a change of plans?" Nagato said.

"Nothing of the sort," Madara said. "We already have the 1-tail in our possession. We're right on track."

"Your message said that the 1-tail Jinchūriki was taken by the 9-tails Jinchūriki."

"Yes. But we've already got the beast. Extraction is complete. That's all that really matters."

"And the 9-tails?"

"Wasn't scheduled to be captured yet. We will operate according to the plan."

"Of course. But do not undermine me."

"Listen. It's bad enough that your men work as slow as they do. I had to show up there and create a personality to distract the konoha ninja from knowing my true identity. We will operate according to plan and I won't undermine you, but allow me to do a little more of the legwork."

"As you wish," Nagato said.

"Good. I've already got our next target lined up for the taking."

"I'll take your word for it," Nagato said.

"Yes. Also…Sasori is dead. The 9-tails brat took his body with him."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"That is an unfortunate development. I didn't expect such weakness from the infamous Sasori of the Red Sand."

"Yes, well, everyone's a disappointment when you know them for long enough."

Nagato q-eyed Madara. His rinnegan roved the spirals carved into his mask.

"That's all," Madara said.

"Onwards then."

Madara evaporated into thin air; Nagato didn't need to know about Kakashi—not yet at least…that matter of business was quite personal.

Nagato let out held-back coughs and he coughed until his palm was full of his spit and blood.

* * *

Sakura and Lady Chiyo traversed barren sand-scapes as fast as their legs would go. They went with urgency. Sakura packed antidotes to Sasori's poison. _Just in case_, she told herself. Chiyo was quiet during the run. Sakura only heard her deep, elderly breathing. They made good distance in short time. They covered hundreds of feet in a single stride.

They stopped in place. A yellow flash blinded them. It stretched out across the entire landscape, as far as the eye could see. Sakura opened her eyes and saw Naruto and Gaara and a red-haired puppet, all splayed out on the sand. They looked either critical or _dead_.

"Naruto!" Sakura said. She was by his side in an instant. He was still breathing. Barely. He opened his eyes a crack and smiled when he saw her face.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, you're here to save the day," he whispered.

Sakura rubbed his back and wiped the sweat glazed on his face with her gloves. She told him to hush up and let her fix him up. She glanced over at Chiyo and shot her an urgent expression. Chiyo didn't catch it. She was too occupied with the sight of the broken puppet. _Kami, lady, what was that your childhood toy? Get over yourself. It's a stupid puppet. More importantly, get over here and help me!_

"Lady Chiyo, please, I need your help. Check Gaara's vitals. I've got Naruto."

Chiyo snapped out of her gaze and rushed to Gaara's side. She shot Sakura a grave look. "No pulse, kid."

"Shit," Sakura said. She chewed her lip. She snapped off her combat gloves and conjured a green aura around her palms. She ran the aura over Naruto. He was in really bad shape. If she didn't get him to a hospital he might die. Worse, Gaara was already gone. She didn't know what to do. All this literally came crashing right on her head. _C'mon, Sakura, think. You can do this—_

Naruto twitched. She flinched. He moved again. He stretched his arm out towards Gaara. Sakura didn't seem to understand. He struggled. He reached further. He didn't need to touch him. He was just close enough.

"_Ahh…_" Naruto moaned in pain.

Sakura chewed her lip. She didn't understand any of what was going on. And by the look on her face, neither did Chiyo. "Naruto, you shouldn't move—"

A red aura bubbled out of Naruto. It singed his skin as it permeated through his pores. It was a painful sight to see. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like. Naruto didn't make any noise after that. No matter how much it must've hurt. He stayed quiet and focused. Tears ran down his cheeks and made sand stick to his face. She noticed his eyes were different. They turned red. His pupils were thin, like a cat or a fox. The red aura turned lighter. First orange. Then a bright yellow, like the flash of light they saw before Naruto appeared with Gaara and the puppet.

"Naruto…" She felt his _love_. There was no other way to describe it. It poured out of him. The aura came out like hot flames. It latched onto Gaara's figure and brought colour back to his skin.

Gaara opened his eyes. Slowly. He breathed. He coughed. He turned and locked eyes with Naruto. He smiled. Naruto smiled back. They both passed out with grins on their faces.

* * *

_IN LIMBO_

Madara appeared out of thin-air. He stepped onto solid-state cubes. This dimension was barren. He kept it so. It was not meant to contain happiness. It emulated the loneliness within him. Everything Konohagakure had taken from him.

_Kakashi_—that man, alone, untied and unbound to anything. He allowed it because he knew there was no way out.

"Where am I?" Kakashi asked. He was bruised and bleeding and huffing deep breaths. "Where's my team? What have you done with them?"

"Tsk-tsk. I ask the questions, Hatake Kakashi," Madara said. He came _this _close to Kakashi's face.

Kakashi stared at the spirals in his mask. Sweat trickled down his neck.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am your reckoning."

* * *

END CHAPTER.


	21. The Definition of Jinchuriki

CHAPTER TWENTY:

* * *

"_The Definition of Jinchūriki…_"

* * *

—(Jinchūriki literally means "Human Sacrifice")—

…

—(It is a metaphor for the transformation that Hinata's death caused to occur in Naruto)—

* * *

_I watch her, unbridled by the useless logistics and laws in place. I watch her for the sake of my master. You see, I have no other purpose than to serve. I am called Sai. This is my mission._

* * *

The sun crept over Ino's face as she slept heaped to the breast with books and scrolls, exhausted by the extent of research she had crunched through in the span of 12 hours. She may have been a Yamanaka, but she was no wizard. The learning process could only be sped up a certain amount. Her brain digested information as fast as it could.

She blinked her eyes open, slowly at first, soothed by warm sunlight. She arose and stretched and gathered the scrolls and books strewn about like clothes in a teenage-girl's closet. She had spent the night in Konoha's library, studying every piece of information available on the Hyūga clan. And boy was she enlightened.

Before the Great Wars, before the formation of the Hidden Villages, the Hyūga clan's origins are largely unknown. To Ino, it was as if they had simply appeared out of thin air, and at the very moment a superpower such as the kind they possessed—their unique ocular jutsu—was absolutely required.

After the Great Wars, the Hyūga allied with no one in general, and especially had no burning desire to join arms with Konoha—Hashirama Senju's revolutionary oasis of thriving shinobi of all likes and manners—due to their—seemingly eternal—conflict with the Uchiha clan. It was a non-negotiable. _Fuck all Uchiha. They're rotten, dirty, back-stabbing bastards._

Still, Hashirama managed somehow to convince them to partner with him in his endeavour to extrapolate and revolutionize the ninja world as everyone knew it.

It is said, in legends and old wives' tales, that the Uchiha were in fact descendants of the Hyūga clan—a bastardized, lowly version of their pure blood—but it is never stated, nor posed…where did the Hyūga come from?…

Ino yawned wide like a lioness. She wiped drool off the corner of her lip and after returning all material to their rightful places—she did so by herself in order to wipe her tracks clean, not wanting to alert any village-member, or worse, Hyūga clan-member of her little historical expedition—she left home for a quick shower and change of clothes before heading back to the mortuary to meet with Shika.

* * *

Ino adjusted her scarf as she opened the door to the morgue room. Shika was not there, as she had hoped, as he was supposed to be. Instead, a small card laid folded atop the metal surgical-tool tray—and it had her name on it.

_Meet me at the Uchiha Compound._

_— __Shika_

She thought it weird. _Why the old Uchiha Compound? _That place was a wasteland. After the infamous Uchiha Massacre, nobody dared touch that place. Still, while Sasuke lived there, the Third Hokage had arranged for custodial and janitorial services to remain in place; the boy's fridges would be filled, his cabinets topped off.

Ino swerved and left without a second thought.

* * *

The Uchiha Compound was a ghost town, straight out of tales of old legend. The place gave Ino the heebie-jeebies. She bit back shivers and cut through the compound quickly, searching far and wide for any sign of Shika.

_Kami, this place is filled with such despair. My brain feels so heavy. Shika, if this is your idea of some sort of prank, I swear I'll kill you_. Ino felt immense emotional discourse. Leftover feelings from the bloody massacre—she didn't even remember how long ago—and they were hitting Ino in all the wrong places.

Ino tried to think of something happy to combat the emotion of muddy contempt this betrayed must have felt as they looked their own brother in blood—and in arms—cut them down in their very homes before their women and children, and then slaughtering them next. She cycled through the regular stuff: pretty flowers, pretty people,

(narutonarutonaruto)

pleasant scents, pleasant sights,

(naruto snuggling a bowl of ramen)

her teammates,

(naruto's golden heart)

her sensei's ridiculous antics,

(naruto's goofy grin)

her mother's eyes,

(naruto's blue-as-the-sky, deep-as-the-ocean eyes)

Naruto's whiskers, Naruto's scruffy blonde locks, Naru—

"Yo. Ino."

Shika leaned against a red-brick building. It towered compared to the rest of the compound. Ino was quick to shake off her thoughts. The sight of Shikamaru helped; he was adept at deduction, it wouldn't take him five seconds to catch her fibbing.

"Shika, jeez, vague much? I've been wandering around in here for I don't even know how long—"

"Aye, aye, relax there Ino-chan, you've been here for maybe five minutes. It couldn't have been that troublesome."

"Shika…" Ino started. He caught her drift rather quick.

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, it must have slipped my mind. I didn't think this place would affect you. It's been so many years since—"

"Blood spilled is still blood. It can go from liquid to a distant stain, but it's still there."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine now," she said, smiling at her teammate. "So why did you call me here?"

Shika smiled. "Thought maybe you'd be happy to know you can finally ditch that dump of an office in the morgue."

"Shika, can we skip the foreplay and just cut to the chase?"

"Okay, okay, follow me," and he stepped inside the red-brick building. Ino scratched the back of her head, and after a deep breath—the feelings in the air now settled and her brain unaffected by their passive existence—she headed in after him.

The building was designed like a station-house. It struck her when she finally saw the sign as Shika headlined it with a grandiose show of hands:

**_KONOHA POLICE DEPARTMENT_**

_Of course! _The Uchiha clan were put in charge of all policing in-and-outside the village. They dealt with all criminal matters, including, but not limited to, prosecuting and delivering sentences…

"Shika, is this what I think it is?"

Shika fixed his ponytail and smiled. "Yep. Welcome to our new headquarters, Ino. We'll be operating out of here—strictly on the q.t. No one is to know for the foreseeable future, not until we're able to—"

"Compile sufficient evidence past the realm of circumstantial. Understood, boss."

Shika grinned. "So, whaddaya think?"

"What do I think? Shika—show me my office!" she said, a smile so bright on her face, as if she had just been told that she'd won the lottery.

* * *

"Danzo-sama," Sai said, descending from the shadows on the ceiling, "the—"

Danzo slammed his cane against Sai's cheek. Sai toppled to his back. He hadn't seen the hit coming. Not even close. He stared wide-eyed for a moment. Danzo simply said, "Did I tell you to exit the shadows, Sai?"

Sai did not answer.

"I believe I asked you a question. I won't repeat myself, Sai."

"Hai, Danzo-sama. Forgive me," Sai said.

Danzo _Hmm'd_. "Carry on with your debrief."

"Hai. The Yamanaka heiress and the Nara heir. They are leading a top-secret investigation into the circumstances which led to the capture and death of the Hyūga Princess. Uzumaki Naruto is also an ally. He is currently out on a mission to assist Sunagakure. The operation is being carried out from within the old Uchiha Compound—the Konoha Police Department HQ."

Danzo _Hmm'd_. "Dismissed, Sai."

Sai did not vanish back into the shadows. He was already there, and remained there. It was his place to exist. Within light and dark, that tiny nothingness in between, _that's _what he called shadows.

* * *

Noon breezed by without notice. The sun was at a standstill. The day creeped on towards eve. Night was hours away, but still, the day felt behind them.

Shika chopstick'd a savoury pork dumpling into his mouth. He moaned in delight. Ino flung a noodle in his face. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry," he said. He still made the facial expressions. It tasted almost sinful. Choji would be cheezed if he found out that he wasn't invited to their little buffet. _Tch, troublesome…_

"Shika, are you listening?" Ino said. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. It landed on top of her head with grace. "I was saying about the Hyūga…"

"Yeah, I'm listening. Origins unknown, super shady bunch. I get the gist. But that doesn't help us in any way."

"Well, let's not rush to conclusions, eh. I was thinking, the Hyūga's origins are unknown in any history book known to mankind…"

"Mmhm…"

"What if there was some book—like some ancestral tree—at the Hyūga Compound…?"

"_What if, _Ino?"

"Yikes, Shika, I'm just suggesting a lead. You've been zero help and I've been wracking my brain harder than I ever have in my entire life and the only conclusion I've come to is that you've basically been doing your best Choji impression the whole time we've been here."

Shika pointed his chopsticks at her. "Accurate."

Ino gripped her head in frustration. She gripped a piece of paper. It read:

_The Fourth Hokage lives—his Fire never died. The red-raven birthed the tricky little red-fox & the darker-than-night wolf. The Queen birthed her princess. The Princess & The Fox, whose paths shall diverge, beware of the place where the skies weep and where the moon shines red; and where the clouds are ablaze even in winter-cold…_

"What does this even mean…I don't understand."

Shika put his noodle-cup down and gripped Ino's hand tight. "Don't sweat it. We'll figure it out." He grabbed the paper from her hands and read aloud. "_The Fourth Hokage Lives—his Fire never died_. That seems pretty straightforward although extremely problematic if so."

Ino nodded. "If Lord Fourth truly lives, the question remains, where did he go, and why did he disappear?"

"Maybe it's metaphorical. Jeez, Ino, I've never been one to say this—well, actually, I've always been the one to say this—but this is seriously troublesome. Especially because I have no clue what any of it may or may not mean. There's a hundred different versions we could translate into meaning that could just be meaningless."

"_His Fire never died…his _Fire…wait, Shika…it _is _a metaphor."

Shika q-eyed Ino. "Elaborate."

"His _Fire_. As in, his _Will?_ Like someone's hope or what they stand for…ahhh what's the word for it…?"

"His Legend," Shikamaru said as he stuck a toothpick in his mouth. "So basically, The Fourth Hokage's legend still lives. Everyone knows his name and his will, his dreams, his desires. Everyone knows his beliefs, even today."

"Exactly! That way it is true—he does still live, maybe not among us like in the general sense, but in spirit, for sure. Remember that lesson in the Academy? It was almost as if the school dedicated an entire subject to Lord Fourth. He's no small deal."

"And not just in our village. The whole world either loves him or fears him."

"He was known as a saviour."

"Okay, so say we solved the first part of the riddle," Shika said, "Until we figure out the rest it's basically meaningless. It's just basic knowledge until we know the rest, and then we can apply it and see if it fits the puzzle."

Ino nodded. She ran her finger across the next line: "_The red-raven birthed the tricky little red-fox & the darker-than-night wolf…._well, I'm stumped."

Shika deadpanned. "Ya don't say."

Ino grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Shika waved her off. He thought intensely for a moment, then, "Maybe now we're dealing with folklore. All this talk of animals, especially their descriptions, it poses spiritual definition. Folklore always derives significance from regular things but adds a sort of metaphorical symbolism to it."

"I think you're on to something, Shika—thought, I can't remember ever reading anything this bizarre, nothing with a _red-raven,_ or a _tricky little red-fox,_ and especially not a _darker-than-night wolf_."

"Me neither," Shika said. He pinched his brow and ran his fingertips across his hairline. It was an exercise in deep thought. "_The Queen birthed her Princess_, The Queen obviously being Hinata's mom, therefore the Princess is most likely Hinata herself."

Ino nodded. "_The Princess & The Fox, whose paths shall diverge_…is it just me, or is _The Fox _supposed to be Naruto?"

"Oh?"

Ino went mum. They hadn't exactly discussed that specific detail. The both of them had read the file. Knew the details. But hadn't quite discussed. Odd, that. Why delay any further.

"Naruto-kun is a…a…" Ino couldn't say it for some reason. Why couldn't she say it?

(_whycantisayit?_)

"A Jinchūriki," Shika said. "I know. And you're probably right about that. The riddle, I mean." Ino nodded. She chewed her fingernails. Shika chewed his toothpick. They sat in silence a few moments. "Tell me something, Ino, does it bother you, that Naruto is a Jinchūriki?"

Ino fervently shook her head, "No, no, not at all, does it bother you?"

Shika spit his toothpick. "Not in the slightest. Him being a Jinchūriki doesn't change the fact that he's my best friend and still just a knucklehead at the end of the day. He isn't what he contains. He's just Naruto."

"Agreed," Ino said, though she didn't stop chewing her fingernails.

Shika stole her hands from her and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Tell me what you're thinking, Ino."

Ino got out of her chair and paced the office. "Just thinking about all this. Naruto being a Jinchūriki. Such a big burden. And he's carried it all along, all alone, never telling anyone about his pain, his hurt, the tears he sheds every day holding that…that…that _thing _off from eating the rest of the world like it was a goddamn cupcake!"

Shika muttered two _Troublesome's _under his breath and stuck a fresh toothpick between his teeth—this one was pineapple flavoured. _Tch—troublesome, I hate pineapples…_

"Ino, do you know what it means?" Shikamaru said. "The word itself: _Jinchūriki_."

Ino shook her head.

"It means _human sacrifice—_"

Ino went eyes-wide.

"—and what you've been saying, how Naruto has always put others before himself, whether it was their needs before his or to protect their lives before he even gave a second thought about what would happen to his own. It's because, even though he may not know it or realize it, Naruto is fulfilling his duty. As are we…"

Ino's sight began to blur. Her eyes were watering.

"We're shinobi. _We endure_…"

A _tap-tap-tap_ on the glass-pane window grabbed both of their attentions. A messenger bird tap-tapped its beak against the window. There was a tiny scroll attached to its left foot. Shika, too lazy for his own good, knife-threw a chopstick at the latch. The window popped open and the bird flew right onto Shika's forearm. He undid the scroll and shooed it away; it stole one of his dumplings before flying off. He muttered another _Troublesome _under his breath before unfurling the scroll.

"What is it?" Ino asked.

"A message from Neji. Says he wants to meet me." Ino shot him a look. He waved her away, "Don't worry, our cover's not blown. The bird belongs to the Nara farmlands. It would know where to find me even if I walked off the edge of the earth."

Shika got up from his seat and stretched. He headed for the door but stopped short of it, so that he could hold Ino. He gripped her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "What did I say—we're shinobi, Ino, we endure. I don't know if you've felt it, but I have, there's a change that occurred in Naruto after Hinata's death. I'm just trying to figure out if it was for the better or worse…"

Ino nodded, her tears quelled (for the moment). Shika exited their brand new office, leaving Ino to reminisce about things that had happened (and fantasize about shit that hadn't). She sat back behind her desk and ran through the riddle in Hinata's head over a hundred times, each time deluding herself into believing that she was getting a step closer to solving its mystery each time.

* * *

Kono-Tea Shop. Shika and Neji, meeting on the d.l. Shika sipped _genmaicha_. Neji drank straight-up black tea, no milk, no sugar. He was here to talk business. He had that look on his face.

"You wanted to see me," Shika said. "Did you figure something out?"

Neji nodded. "You asked me if I could assist you in any way—" Shika nodded. "—Well, I did a little research regarding the Byakūgan's origins."

"And lemme guess, nobody knows where it truly comes from?" Shika said.

Neji smiled. "Indeed. At least in Konoha's library no one seems to know. So I figured, the Hyūga clan must keep records or ancient texts that only the highest clan members can access."

_Shit, Ino, were you right after all?…_

Neji sipped his tea. "So I searched compound with my own Byakūgan. And nothing. Not a single book in sight. No scrolls. Nothing."

Shika blew bubbles into his tea. _Well, that was anti-climactic. _"Unfortunate, Neji."

"No, not at all. On the contrary. You're telling me you'd be perfectly content believing a clan like the Hyūga doesn't own a single book or a scroll? Nah, that'd be bullshit, and you know it."

"That's a fair point."

"Exactly, so I figured—"

"Holy shit…"

"—Genjutsu," Neji finished, smirking into his tea as he sipped the last bit.

"But I thought Genjutsu was useless against the Byakūgan." Shika said.

"That's what I thought," Neji said, "but apparently not. And it makes sense too. Only a Hyūga Main-House member would know the secret to fooling a Byakūgan. Branch-House members have always been kept out of the loop, and while I believe Hiashi-sama has greatly improved in his efforts in empathy, I still find it hard to believe that the man wouldn't keep any secrets. _Everyone _has secrets."

Shika slid his tea off to the corner of the table and followed Neji's every word with rapt attention.

"So I did some digging, checked the compound after hours in the places I felt the most unusual using my own Byakūgan, and lo and behold…" Neji placed a folded paper on the table. "Underneath the tatami mat where the shrine for Hiashi-sama's wife is…" Shika reached for it. Neji pulled it back. "Not here, Shika. Take it with you. Go. Now."

Shika q-eyed Neji for a moment, then slipped the paper into his vest and headed for the door. Neji muttered to him as he passed. Shika paused to listen.

"_I'm on your side, Shika. Something's fishy about this whole thing. The motives surrounding Hinata-sama's death are skewed. But if what that paper says is true, then Hinata-sama herself played a role in her own death. I just can't think of a reason why. Please, Shikamaru, figure this shit out._"

Shika tapped him on the shoulder as he left. The last thing Neji said was, "The funeral's being held in a week; I'm here on under the guise that I am informing you to return Hinata-sama's body so that we may begin preparations."

Shika tapped his nose.

Neji nodded.

Shika left the tea-shop.

* * *

Shika walked in on Ino banging her head against the desk. He nearly choked on his own laughter. She deadpanned. He held back his chortles and pulled out the folded paper.

"Neji was helpful after all," he said.

Ino's eyes brightened. "What is it?"

"I thought it best that we saw it together. Since Naruto's not here, and we can't wait for him, we might as well."

He hovered behind Ino's chair and placed the paper on the desk. Ino unfolded it carefully. They read it:

**_Hinata Hyūga's Diary_**

**(_ENTRY 09_)**

**_The Byakūgan is said to have mysterious origins, unknown to anyone for certain—even our ancestors. The Hyūga clan is not known to keep historical records. But now, with these eyes of mine, I can see truly and clearly, past, present, and future. I see my ancestors. I see the legend's of the past. I see the origins of the Byakūgan. I see the origins of the Hyūga clan. I see the origin of everything. _**

**_These eyes are a blessing and a curse. That is why I have to do this. I'm hiding this note beneath the tatami mat where mother's shrine is. I can only hope that when the time comes, it will have reached your hands, sister. It may not be of any help to you, but there will be a child in the future who you must help. After the war has ended—and I know that you will not understand the things I am saying right now, but please, heed my words nonetheless, sister—there will be a child who will have the same eyes as I do. You must help that child in learning how to use these eyes in order to keep balance; I am bringing true balance to the universe; all the child must learn to do is to make sure not to tip the scales._**

**_The ocular jutsu known as the Byakūgan comes from a distant race of beings. I will not go into depth about them. The very thought of them elicits the most fearsome shivers within me. The darker-than-night wolf will help you piece the puzzle together. For now, all you must know is that our eyes are not perfect. The Sharingan is another dōjutsu that was derived from the Byakūgan. Legend say that the Rinnegan is the most perfect ocular ability known to our kind. This is a lie. Our Byakūgan's are capable of transforming—_evolving_—to a higher form of sight. _**

**_I have no word that I can associate with this evolution, so I shall name it: The All-Seeing Golden Eyes; the Byaku-Rinne-Sharingan. Mother of all dōjutsu. _**

**_With these eyes I have power like no other, sister. The child you will meet will have this same power…_**

**_The power to see all of time as if it was a flat circle. The past, present, and future. Even now, I can see, this child, learning by your side. It puts a smile on my face, sister, to see the woman you've grown to become…Ah, I should do well not to indulge my melancholy this much. _**

**_If things go accordingly, the world will be safe. I hope you can forgive me for what I must do, Hanabi-chan. _**

**_I love you._**

Their eyes went wide at the implications. Shika chewed on a fresh toothpick—_apple_—and Ino on her fingernails. They turned to look at each other and both said aloud, "_Oh shit_."

* * *

OROCHIMARU'S HIDEOUT...

* * *

Sasuke sharpened his kusanagi blade against stone. He practiced on snakes crossing his path. He sat on the rooftop of the hideout. He stared at the spot where he met the unorthodox summoning creature that gave him Hinata's diary. He pondered the things she wrote in there, even more so after news had hit that the Hyūga Princess had been killed by the Akatsuki less than a week ago. Everything about this rang eerie, predetermined, like Hinata had written. _But there's no such thing as God,_ Sasuke thought. _Is there…?_

He pulled the diary out of his waistband and flipped to the next page. It read, (_ENTRY 02_). He read the very first line: _Well done, Sasuke. You have killed Orochimaru of The Legendary Sannin—_

He snapped the book _shut!_ He slipped it back into his waistband and sheathed his blade in its scabbard. He pondered that, killing Orochimaru. He had meant to, hopefully sometime soon, but it was too soon, and his eyes had been paining him since he had obtained the diary. Everything pointed to it being the wrong time. But then again, since when did Uchiha Sasuke ever wait for the right time?

Sasuke free-fell from the top of the building. He waited till the last second before retrieving his blade from its scabbard, thrusting it into the dirt ground, and landing gracefully upon its hilt. When he opened his eyes they were blood-red and spun in cartwheels. His eyes hurt the whole time. He used it to fuel his mission:

_Time's up, Orochimaru. And after him, I'm coming for you, Itachi…_

(_No, not Itachi, Sasuke, remember? You must spare the life of Uchiha Itachi_.)

Sasuke turned off her voice and allowed the dull hum of his spinning Mangekyou Sharingan to fill his ears. It helped to drown out his thoughts. It helped bring him some semblance of peace.

It would surely help to drown out the sound of a snake dying.

* * *

CHAPTER END.


	22. Tanuki Dreams 20

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

* * *

"TANUKI DREAMS 2.0"

* * *

(today i dreamt about a fox and a dog and a man made of yellow light; the fox was me; the dog my friend; the man in yellow my father)"

* * *

SUNAGAKURE

* * *

_This is bad, this is really really really bad, _Sakura thought to herself as she paced the corridors of the Sunagakure General Hospital. Naruto was in critical condition. He hadn't woken for two days. His heartbeat was barely there. It was so faint he was nearly admitted _dead_ on arrival. Thank goodness for Lady Chiyo, who sensed his life-force, however faint, and had him hooked onto an IV, a ventilator, and heartbeat monitor.

Gaara was secure, and more importantly, _healthy_. It was crazy enough that he survived, but he seemed better for it. His tailed beast was removed from him by the Akatsuki. Sakura knew from Tsunade that should the moment arrive, and Naruto be captured by the Akatsuki, it would mean the end of his life.

Surviving tailed beast extraction was nearly impossible. But if someone could do it, Tsunade-sensei had always said it would be Naruto; Sakura didn't know if she believed that because of his indispensable courage and strong will, or because of his namesake _Uzumaki_. She'd read tales of the First Hokage's beau, Mito, and of her longevity and eternal youth, all credited to her Uzumaki blood.

Sakura chewed her fingernails and paced the corridor no end. _And to top it all off, Kakashi-sensei is missing without a goddamn trace!_ She didn't know what to do at all, she'd never been in this position before. She'd never had to take calls on the open field, and especially not on behalf of her entire team. She'd sent a bird out to Konoha to deliver word of this development in their mission. She prayed in her mind that Tsunade had already received it. That the bird was faster than light and it had already informed her and that she was already figuring out what to do and how to be _here_ so that she could save Naruto. Her medical knowledge was flawless.

_But then why isn't she here?_ said a voice inside her head. She shook it off and kept on pacing.

* * *

KONOHAGAKURE

* * *

"Shizune," Tsunade said, "inform the councilmen and the advisory. I'm heading out for Suna!"

Shizune nearly dropped the whole stack of paperwork. "Ts-tsunade-sama, Suna? Why?"

Tsunade outfitted herself as she spoke. "Sakura's messenger bird spoke unfortunate news. My presence will be required."

Shizune silently observed her master. The woman was hiding the details. She allowed it. There was always a good reason and an equally strong superstition. When she bet she always lost. She didn't want to say something and jinx her hidden hopes and secret desires.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama, I will inform them. Which squad shall I prepare to accompany you?"

"None," Tsunade said, slapping a wrist-guard in place. "I will be going alone."

"A-alone, T-tsunade-sama, b-but—"

"No buts, Shizune. I've said it and I won't repeat myself." She swung her Hokage cloak over her shoulders. (She rarely ever wore the thing; it was too flashy for her comfort; she kept it purely for official occasions—meetings with other country-men, counsellors, etc.)

Shizune chewed her lip. "Please, Tsunade-sama, I urge you to reconsider."

Tsunade paused, grabbed Shizune by the shoulders, "I've reconsidered. I'm still going alone," and she left the fortressed offices of the Hokage Tower and _blitzed_ out the village gates before Shizune could say another word. And that was when she heard the sound of diamonds shattering. _Tsunade-sama, that jutsu?! _

* * *

_The Root Operative Sai observed her departure with a keen eye and an illicit curiosity. He dissipated into shadow and the place where he hid turned to ink and hit the ground a giant splash, vandalizing the neighbouring street._

* * *

In Sunagakure General Hospital, Naruto had comatose dreams. He could vaguely feel his life-force slugging along, keeping him alive—barely, but just enough that he might just live to fight another day. He knew in passing the reasons how he ended up here—_in _here—like this, but it escaped him for the most part. All he knew was pain, pain, _pain_…

What he could feel of his body hurt worse than the time he spurted the fifth and sixth _tail_ during his training with Jiraiya-sensei. His head pounded. He had the worst migraine. And it was only getting worse with each dream he encountered…

Naruto drifted along the swampy waters of the gutter that was his mind. He passed through corridor after corridor, finally arriving to the place where the beast lived inside him. He remembered—as if this was a distant memory and not happening in the here and now—feeling like he was seeing himself in the third person. He watched his blank face as it floated across the water, his blue eyes a paler colour now, especially so in the dim light the sewer projected.

He saw his body drift through the gigantic prison-bars that separated him and the Kyūbi, and he tried to yell at his third-person Self to _STOP!…_to no avail, his-Self did not stop floating into the abyss of the Kyūbi's cage, and he feared—he _knew_, deep inside—that this was the end for him. Even if he lived, it would be a faux-existence; not truly him, just the Kyūbi playing its part pulling his strings.

Naruto drifted into darkness, inch by inch, the water getting deeper. He felt like he'd crossed into an ocean of pain. The water pricked his body through the fabric of his clothes. He felt like he was getting heavier. He began to sink into the depths of the ocean. The prison-gates were a great distance away now. He had crossed the border into its depths and was now in the Kyūbi's domain. He succumbed to it…

**_Sink…_**

**_Sink…_**

**_Sink…_**

**_SINK._**

Naruto opened his eyes and saw the beast (from his own point of view, no longer an abstract phantom witnessing his self from the outside in), its eyes blood-red, its fur on edge, mouth salivating at the sweet sight of Naruto. Time to eat, Naruto thought. He imagined the painful sight of seeing his innards drowning in the water as the beast ate him up bit by bit.

It didn't.

A tear fell on his face, like a great splash from a bucket of water. Kyūbi was crying. _Why? _Naruto wondered. _Why do you cry? Isn't this what you've always wanted?_

(**_No…not always…_**)

_I don't understand. What is this?_

Kyūbi didn't answer. A great flash of yellow light enveloped the ocean whole. When Naruto blinked his eyes he saw a shadow standing atop the still water. It was a man. He was bathed in yellow light. He felt pure. Naruto felt at peace staring at the man. And then he spoke.

"_Naruto, right?_"

Naruto nodded. The man's features becoming clearer as the light began to dim…

"_It's good to meet you, properly this time. My name—well, you must already know my name—Jiraiya-sensei must have told you. But for the sake of introductions, my name is Namikaze Minato, aka your Fourth Hokage._"

Naruto wide-eyed stared at the man.

Kyūbi disappeared. The cage disappeared. Everything dissipated until they were standing in an empty white room, comprised of nothing but the two of them floating within it.

"How is this possible? Am I dead? Is this the afterlife?…"

"Hahaha! Nothing of the sort, son. Just your mind-scape. I stored a little bit of chakra inside of you in case a moment ever arrived where the Kyūbi took over; it was to reset the seal, except…your seal is all fine and dandy. And you're going to be absolutely fine. Which begs the question, why was my chakra summoned forth?…"

Naruto didn't hear a word after _son_. He slammed into his father wholeheartedly and held him in a tight hug. Tears brimmed and he felt his cheeks go hot. "_Dad!_"

Minato smiled and rubbed Naruto's back. He ran his fingertips through the boy's hair and pulled him in closer. "I'm sorry, son. It's been too long. I'm sure you've gone through enough."

Naruto wept into his father's shoulder. He didn't speak for a long while. He wept all his sorrow out in one go. Minato simply held him, whispering sweet sayings to his young boy, consoling him as best as a man can who has only now met his son properly for the very first time.

Naruto pulled away after endless minutes of crying. He stared into his father's eyes. "You have no idea what I've been through."

"You're probably right, Naru—"

"No! You don't understand! Everything I had to go through just because you decided to make me the vessel for the Kyūbi, just because you chose to make me a Jinchūriki! I lived alone for so long, nobody wanted to be friends with me, everyone hated me, the villagers cornered me with their evil stares and they all thought I couldn't hear them talking about me but I heard every single on of 'em and I-I-I hated them!"

Minato shed a tear. He held his son's cheek. "I'm very sorry about all that, Naruto-kun. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, if not now then maybe someday in the future."

Naruto softened at his father's touch. He'd never felt comfort before, not like this, not from a man he could call his father. The closest he'd had to a parent was Hokage-jiji, but then he died, and after him it was Jiraiya-sensei. "I understand," he said, "I understand every bit of why you did what you did, dad, of course I do. But it doesn't stop it from hurting me. And it didn't stop the villagers from turning me into a pariah."

Minato nodded. "Yes, people can be like mountains."

"I only wish mom was here too," Naruto said.

"Of course you do," Minato said, peeking behind his shoulder and holding in his sheepish expression. _Maybe one day, Naruto, but not today, _he thought. _I think you'd be surprised to know her…she would be so proud of you. Ah, how I miss your presence—_

"Why are we even here?" Naruto said.

Minato gave him a look. "Your guess is as good as mine, son."

A lightbulb lit up in Naruto's head. "The Hiraishin no jutsu…"

"Ah."

"Shit."

"Well, that would probably be it."  
"Again, I'm sorry, it was the only choice I had. I read about it in one of Jiraiya-sensei's scrolls while he was off peeping years ago. It took me a while to understand and I never really got the hang of it—obviously, since we're here right now—but it was either that or to hand myself over to the Akatsuki along with the Kyūbi," Naruto said.

"No apology necessary," Minato said. He smiled. "You took a tough call on the battlefield in the heat of battle. _I'm proud of you, Naruto-kun_."

Naruto stared at his father's expression, his cheeks flush and his eyes turned up as he smiled innocently at the man. "Thanks, dad!"

Minato clapped him on the back. "Come, let's take a walk. And don't sweat it about the jutsu. Practice makes perfect, you know. Although, I wouldn't try it again with the Hiraishin…"

* * *

"I've been watching everything going on, Naruto-kun, I know everything about what happened with Uchiha Sasuke and more recently…Hyūga Hinata…"

Naruto chewed his lip. "You do, huh."

Minato swung an arm around Naruto's shoulder. They seemed to have been pacing on endlessly through the white room, which, it would appear, extended along with their steps forward to wherever they went and would continue for infinity. "Listen, Naruto-kun," he started, "That moment, when Hinata-san died, I felt everything going on inside you. I thought that I might just have to preemptively break out of the seal in order to stop you from unleashing the Kyūbi completely, but then something happened…"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Something did happen. Hinata said something to me and I felt this weird feeling and then this warmth overcame me and I started burning yellow."

"Precisely, Naruto-kun, precisely that. Do you know why that happened?" Naruto shook his head. "I think, Naruto-kun, Hinata-san channeled her feelings for you into a type of power source. And in turn, so did you."

"I don't quite understand, dad."

"Neither do I, to be quite honest," Minato said, "but I have a theory that all of that purity you felt for Hinata and that Hinata felt for you—her love, your appreciation of her, your pain at losing her—it altered the evolution of how your chakra and the Kyūbi's chakra usually mix together. You see, usually, whenever you use the Kyūbi's chakra it's been a volatile result. The chakra hurts more than it helps. But in the instance with Hinata-san, it was almost as if your chakras were complimenting each other. Helping one another the way two halves of the same whole do."

"Yin & Yang," Naruto whispered.

"Precisely," Minato said.

"But how is that possible?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure. But maybe it's possible that what you feel, your aura, your purity, your _intent—_it all affects how you and the beast interact with one another."

Naruto nodded. "Basic math. A positive and a negative always equals negative."

"Yes, but it's more than that. It can play out two ways here; either you give in and meet the Kyūbi's negative with your own negative, play into its methods and you would gain its power but in return you would become evil; _or, _you meet the Kyūbi with your positive…and—"

"_The Kyūbi meets me with his positive._"

Minato nodded.

"But then that would mean…"

"Yes."

"Shit."

"Haha, indeed. I think you and the fox need to have a conversation in private. What do you say, Naruto-kun?"

"Will you come with me?" he asked. Minato shook his head. "Why not?"

"I brutally injured and resealed the beast. I think me being present would only deter the goal of the conversation."

"So what," Naruto said. "and the beast killed both my parents and has ever since only tried to escape from me, whether it caused me harm was the least of its concerns."

"Well it would seem that that's changed," Minato said with a smirk on his face.

Naruto huffed. "Then you can come with me after all if the beast's turned over a new leaf."

Minato sighed. "Listen, Naruto-kun, I was only able to store whatever chakra I had left. And I'm about empty."

Naruto didn't say a word in return.

Minato smiled at the young boy. "This is goodbye, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled. He understood very quickly that their time must be limited. He cherished the fact that he got to meet his father. He would tell Jiraiya-sensei all about it when he got home. Still, he was sad. Sad that he couldn't have a father. Sad that he couldn't have a mother. But that's okay, because when he becomes Hokage, he'll have an entire village to call his family—people who will have acknowledged him and understood him and buried their biased hatred of him. He wouldn't have to be a pariah anymore. _One day…_

Minato hugged Naruto. Naruto held on tight. He felt Minato dissipate like the yellow light, then the vast white room along with him, and Naruto closed his eyes before he would be back in the sewer with the beast again. He opened his eyes when he felt nothing but the cold, empty air to return his embrace. And then came the foul stench of the sewer. _Kami, my mind's really a gutter, ain't it_…

Naruto stood before the giant gates that bridged the gap between Kyūbi and him and the world beyond. A paper of equal size taped both side of the gate shut—atop it, written boldly: **_SEAL_**.

Naruto willed the beast's presence. It did not show its face.

Naruto urged it without words, only his unmoving presence. _I will not move until you show yourself to me_.

It did not show its face.

Naruto spoke. "Kyūbi, for as long as I've known you, you've never hidden from me."

It. Did. Not. Show. Its. Face.

"Why now?" he asked. "Why hide now, when I've finally come on my own. Just to see you."

Naruto couldn't sense anything beyond the bars. He ground his teeth together. He furrowed his brows. He squinted…

Something walked by the gate. Naruto couldn't quite see it. It was dark. It was a tiny creature. It came through the bars. It was a dog—no—a…_Tanuki?_ he wondered. It smiled goofily at him before receding back into the darkness.

The Kyūbi still had not shown its face.

"_OYE!_ Why won't you show yourself you stupid mangy mutt!? C'mon, I'm here and I wanna talk asshole! You always do this, so attitude-y, like a girl, huh, I'll just call you Kyūbi-_chan _from now on. Yeah, that sounds good to me. Neh, Kyūbi-_chan…chanchanchanchan~_ Kyūbi-_chaaaaa—_"

"**_OYE! GAKI! YOU DARE COME IN HERE AND START NAME-CALLING WITH ME! STEP PAST THOSE BARS IF YOU'VE GOT THE BALLS, BOY! I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS BEFORE YOU CAN SAY THE WORDS, '_**_Chan_**_' AGAIN!_**"

Kyūbi's voice boomed. Echoes bounced through the cracks and came out whispers from other corners of the dank prison. It emphatically imitated Naruto's way of saying the word, _chan_.

Naruto grinned and scratched his head at that. "S-sorry…just wanted to get your attention."

Kyūbi huffed. "**_What do you want,_**" it said, stepping closer to the gates. Its figure towered the prison itself, and in order to avoid bumping its head against the ceiling, it had to crouch down low. "**_Did you think I was waiting for you to extend a hand of friendship, brat? That we would become inseparable partners in and outside of our combat lives? Just 'cause your dead ol' daddy said so?_**"

"Well, yeah," Naruto said.

"**_Don't think I'm amused, boy. Get the hell out of here. We have nothing to discuss._**"

"Sure we do," Naruto said. "What happened to me after…after…_after_ _Hinata died? _I've never felt power like that before, not even when you lent me your chakra during the fight at the Valley of the End. Not even when you nearly killed me after almost sprouting the 8th tail during my training with Jiraiya."

"**_Don't fool yourself. It was my chakra. That's all._**"

Naruto facepalmed. "Listen, you've been inside me for—no, no, wait, that sounds wrong…uhmmm…you've been sealed…_no_…you know what I mean, Kyūbi, you've been in this _predicament _for the past 15 years—"

"**_Wrong,_**" Kyūbi said.

"Wrong?"

"**_Hm_**."

"How? Wait, you—"

"**_I have been sealed for over 100 years, Naruto. You have no clue about anything. No idea about me._**"

"I-I…I _want_ to know."

"**_No. I won't let you, Naruto. Now, if you're done pestering me, fuck off for a little while. I'm sure I'll see you again, whenever you get yourself into a situation next-door to Death. Pester me then. Begone now!_**"

"Kyūbi, that's not fair—"

"**_Oye, I'm not here to teach you what's fair and what's not. This isn't moral philosophy class, Naruto. You realize if these bars weren't here we wouldn't be 'just talking' right now. My claws would've been in your heart. I would've traced scars into the spot where you're 'best friend' stabbed you with a jutsu your 'beloved teacher' taught him. Begone, Naruto. Begone._**"

"You're being awfully mean considering you helped me back then. Admit it. You synched our chakra, didn't you?"

"**_Your dad and you, you're both insane. He was the one who designed this damned seal to synchronize our chakra together with time. This is only an inevitability. Don't fool yourself—_**"

"Yeah, I know, but you've always had the ability to deny me power. You've said no before, when it wasn't of enough interest for you. Why did you help me. Why with Hinata?"

"**_You helped yourself._**"

"Tsk. C'mooooon, man. Enough with your moodiness. Get off your high-horse already and accept that we're both fucked. You might not have chosen this _predicament_ but neither did I. My pops did. And he did it because he knew there would come a time when I would need your help. He anticipated the Akatsuki—or at least, something big and evil. Please, Kyūbi, search your feelings. I'm not ashamed to admit that I need your help. The Akatsuki are strong, stronger than I am. You see everything that goes on from inside here. You saw how I barely escaped. I had zero control over that teleportation. I'm lucky I didn't leave my head behind."

Kyūbi came right up to the bars. His snout peaked between. It reached where Naruto stood. He could dine on Naruto right now if he so desired. Instead he smiled. Naruto couldn't tell if it was evil or friendly or just how his face looked when he bared his fangs. Kyūbi kept on smiling.

"**_Oy, Naruto…_**"

"Yeah," Naruto said, unsure of what was to come.

"**_FUCK OFF—_**"

"Naruto, wake up…please, wake up, Naruto…!"

_Eh, who's there? _Naruto wondered.

"Naruto!"

_The voice came from above, _he thought.

"NARUTOOOOO!"

Naruto stared at the prison bars. They began to grow distant. _No, _he thought. _Not until we're finished talking, Kyūbi_—

He saw the beast looking at him through the gates, his expression inexplicable. He was crying again. No—he wasn't crying. He was never crying. His eyes…what the hell was wrong with his eyes? "_Oy, Kyūbi, what's wrong with your eyes?! Oy! Kyūbi!_"

But Kyūbi never spoke…

He just flashed blood-red eyes…

Weird-shaped, a shuriken encircled by tomoe…but it was definitely…

It was unmistakeable to Naruto…

That what he was seeing…

…was a Sharingan.

(**_Though it will long be forgotten by the time you awake, Naruto…I'm sorry. You remind me so much of Him…I'm sorry I couldn't help you more_**)

* * *

SUNAGAKURE GENERAL HOSPITAL

* * *

Tsunade pumped vigorous amounts of chakra into Naruto's brain and heart. She manually channelled his neurological impulses and restarted them to jumpstart Naruto's consciousness. He finally opened his eyes. She shed a tear. It fell into his eye. He blinked and sat upright, rubbing his eyes vigorously. He stared at her and Sakura and he smiled brightly like he always did. She wouldn't have been able to bear it if he died. She wouldn't bear it. And now she wouldn't have to. She knew now, that everything was going to be okay. Because Naruto was okay. And so she was okay.

"Yo," he said, eyes shut in a delightful grin.

_Can't let you out of my sight for too long,_ she thought

He snickered, as if hearing her thoughts.

_I missed you, brat. Don't ever do that again._

"I can't do that, Tsuna-chan," he said aloud, confusing Sakura, surprising Tsunade.

_Why's that?_ she thought.

"Well, if I stopped being broken, then who are you going to fix?"

The moment was imagined. Naruto simply sat there, grinning at the both of them, happy to be back in the world of the living, unaware of the thoughts that had just flowed through her head, unaware of her bond to him, her affection for him. He was the closest thing she had to a friend other than Jiraiya. _Friend, _she thought. It took her half her life to find one. And she wasn't going to spend the other half mourning the loss of it.

A single tear let loose off her cheek. Sakura didn't notice. Naruto did. He stopped laughing. He stared at her face. Without hesitation, he reached forward—palm out—and caught the tear in his bare hand. He made a fist and pulled her in for a hug. She didn't fight him. She held him tight. Sakura joined.

Tsunade held back her tears. Not in front of Sakura. Not in front of Naruto. Not anymore. Not in front of those who looked up to her.

She wouldn't let a single one of them die on her watch.

She was the Hokage. It took her a long time to understand what that meant, but now she knew.

_You all are my family. And I'll gladly die fighting for you all._

* * *

CHAPTER END.


End file.
